Venti Sized Crush
by ZoeReed
Summary: Bending gets reintroduced into this modern coffeeshop AU. Korra's new life as the Avatar, and her blossoming relationship with Asami, are put to the test when a group called the Blue Lotus decides to alter the Avatar. If you only want cute and fluffy Korrasami, stop reading after chapter 6 :)
1. Chapter 1

_** Based off the AU prompt on tumblr that goes: "_ _I'm a barista and you're the obnoxious customer who comes through and orders a venti macchiato while talking on the phone the whole time so I misspell your name in increasingly creative ways every day AU"_

…

There she was again, last one in line in her fancy red and gray business suit. Talking on her cell phone, like Korra knew she'd continue to do even as she ordered her venti macchiato. She did the same thing every morning. Showed up in the middle of morning rush and refused to hang up whatever important business call she was on even while she ordered. It didn't really slow the line that much, but it was _so_ awkward interrupting serious talk about 'product launch's and 'board meeting's with 'hi, what can I get for you?'

At first Korra stopped asking what the woman wanted and just stood there, waiting until she got a pause in conversation, put her hand over the phone, and whispered the order over the counter. It didn't matter much that the woman gave an apologetic smile as she whispered. Or that she had flawless black hair and incredible green eyes. Or that her smile was both gorgeous _and_ cute. Okay… she was hot. Really, really hot, and clearly successful. But _rude_. Hotness was no excuse for talking on the phone while you're supposed to be ordering your coffee.

So Korra started messing around and purposefully misspelling her name. Asamee. Uhsami. Asamay. Samamy. She actually started looking forward to it, and spent all morning trying to come up with another clever name. So when the woman finally arrived at the back of the line, she actually got excited instead of being annoyed, because Korra was prepared. She was prepared enough that while the person at the head of the line pondered their order she grabbed a venti cup, prematurely writing Asami's 'macchiato' with the name 'Salami.' She set the cup aside and took the order of the next handful of patrons, already so amused she was smiling.

But then as Asami reached the second place in line Korra heard her say, "got to go, see you in a bit," and actually _hung up the call_. That's _not_ what was supposed to happen, because then Asami reached the front of the line and flashed that smile and it wasn't apologetic this time. It was… crap. It was smug. "Morning," and she glanced at Korra's nametag as if she hadn't been coming here for months and just been too oblivious to look at it sooner, "Korra." It was so unexpected, such a deviation from the routine that Korra just blinked at her for a few seconds while one of Asami's eyebrows steadily rose, waiting for a response. When Korra failed to spit the usual greeting Asami said, "I'll take a venti macchiato please."

She said _please_. Politely. Korra snapped back to it and reached not for the pre-arranged cup, but for a fresh one. She couldn't possibly enact revenge. Not when Asami had hung up and had that coy smile like she _knew_ Korra had been messing with her for weeks and why. And she said please. But just when Korra reached for a new cup Asami glanced down, catching a glimpse of the one she'd set aside.

"Isn't that mine?" she asked, probably catching a glimpse of the 'ami,' and reached for the cup before Korra could snatch it. Asami pulled it close and spun it in her hand to see what was written, and as her brilliant green eyes ran back and forth over it Korra's cheeks burned hotter and hotter. Asami wasn't being rude now. It was Korra. Korra was being rude because she'd purposefully written a lunch meat instead of the customer's actual name, and oh god Asami's eyes read the name and then left the cup to meet Korra's. "Well," she said, setting the cup back on the counter and putting a hand on her hip, "You got the order right."

"I'm so sorry," Korra blurted. Her hand shot out to grab the cup and without looking she threw it backwards over her shoulder. She heard it land on the cluttered tea counter behind her and knock something down. She winced at the loud clutter that hit the floor, cheeks shading darker as she said, "That was unprofessional and stupid and-"

"Here," interrupted one of the other baristas, and he set the cup Korra had thrown back on the counter with an indignant glare. "You dropped this."

Asami laughed. Like, an actual giggle, and she wasn't smug anymore but genuinely amused. She reached out to take the stupid offensive cup and pulled it to her, but then she stretched across the counter again to grab a fresh one and she took the pen right out of Korra's hand. Korra was confused and embarrassed and so put off when Asami's fingers brushed hers. She was _flustered_ , legitimately blushing and flustered.

"I think Asamay was my favorite," Asami said lightheartedly, scribbling on the fresh cup and then handing it back. She'd written her own order with her name spelled correctly. "But it's getting increasingly hard to recognize when they call my name." Korra set the cup aside for another barista to grab and make Asami's drink, too embarrassed to say anything. "Not sure I'd have ever guessed who Salami was."

"I'm sorry," Korra said again, distractedly punching the order into the register while Asami started to scribble on the offensive cup. "It's just you always come in earlier when it's busy and you're on the phone so I didn't think you noticed and-" as she bumbled Asami finished writing and handed the pen back. "Thanks." Korra couldn't see what she'd written, the inked side of the cup was facing the opposite direction, and so she read off the register, "Four dollars and fifty cents."

As Asami handed over her card her phone started ringing. Korra expected her to answer it, but Asami simply looked at the caller ID, glanced at her watch, and let out a soft sigh as she hit decline.

"You're running late this morning?" Korra asked, returning the card and _finally_ feeling the heat in her cheeks returning to normal.

"I almost didn't come in for coffee," Asami confirmed, and her lips curled into a teasing smile. "I didn't want to miss out on your latest misspelling though."

"I'm sorry," Korra whined, but when Asami laughed at her she couldn't help but chuckle. Asami was nothing like she would've expected. She was late but she wasn't rushing anything, and she didn't take herself seriously enough to be angry about Korra's stupid revenge. "You keeping that as a souvenir?" Korra nodded toward the salami cup.

"Asami," called one of the other baristas, holding up the venti macchiato.

"This is for you, actually," Asami said, pushing the cup across the counter. She flashed a parting smile, saying as she went to retrieve her drink, "See you tomorrow, Korra."

Korra watched as Asami grabbed her macchiato and hurried out the door. It wasn't until she was gone that Korra picked up the cup to see what was different. At seeing the seven digits written beneath 'Salami' her cheeks flushed again. Her phone number. Weeks of purposefully misspelling Asami's name had earned Korra her _phone number_? She hadn't even considered the fact that her casual revenge might seem flirtatious, but if it did she definitely wasn't complaining. She was so unexpectedly delighted she let out a quiet squeal and spun in a happy circle, blushing darker as she faced forward again to meet a bewildered customer.

"Hi," Korra greeted the customer, distractedly hurrying to write the number down on a piece of receipt that she could shove into her pocket. "What can I get for you?"

It took everything Korra had to wait until the _end_ of the day to put that number to use. When it came down to it, she really only had the patience to wait until the end of her shift. She'd hardly hung up her apron when she punched in Asami's number and a text that said, 'I've got a venti macchiato for Salami. When's she free?' It was only early afternoon, but maybe they could grab a coffee later tonight when Asami got off work…

Korra didn't live far, so as she walked home she held her phone in her hand, waiting for a text back. It didn't come, not the entire twenty-minute walk, and by the time Korra reached her apartment she was panicking. Stupid. She shouldn't have purposefully misspelled Asami's name _again,_ in a text _to her_. So stupid. She got home and didn't bother saying hi to Mako or Bolin and sank into the couch. She put the phone on the couch next to her and sulked while absentmindedly watching TV. So dumb.

It took an hour. A whole torturous hour during which Korra considered how stupid it was to sulk like this when she'd never even thought about a date with Asami. Then the phone vibrated next to her. It was in her hands and unlocked in the blink of an eye.

'Sorry,' the message read, 'crazy busy at work. I don't suppose you deliver?'

One of Korra's eyebrows ascended to her hairline. Deliver? As in Asami was actually asking if Korra could come to her place of business with coffee… did that count as a date? She punched in her response, 'I'm a dedicated barista who is willing to make an exception.'

It didn't take nearly as long to get a reply this time, and a minute later Asami had texted back. 'Future Industries, ask for Asami.' Before Korra could reply a second message came in, 'Make sure you've got a drink too. IOU, on me.'

Korra grinned, flying off the couch and heading for the front door. 'See you soon.'


	2. Chapter 2

_***_ _Here you go guys, chapter 2! Just wanted to say thanks for being so nice and for all the great feedback :). I'm so happy to be a part of this fandom. Can't believe it took me this long to contribute something. Hope you like it!_

…..

Korra was practically running. The main doors of Future Industries' tower were in sight, and with two drinks in her hand she was going as fast as she could. But it wasn't because of excitement. The walk from the coffee shop to Future Industries was at least thirty minutes long, so she'd made sure to get the drinks _extra_ hot so they'd still be warm by the time she got to Asami. Only, they were too hot. Way too freaking hot and her hands were on fire even with the paper sleeves on them.

She reached the automatic doors of the tower, groaning because they were opening _so_ slowly and she had to dodge through to get in faster. It caused her to clip her elbow on one of them, and the bump sent a scalding drop of coffee running down the side of her hand. Composure was nothing now, and Korra sprinted the remaining distance through the massive lobby to the reception desk, sloppily dropping the cups onto the chest-high counter.

"Asami," Korra sighed loudly, shaking her hands out at her sides and then sticking one to her lips to suck off the hot coffee. "I'm looking for Asami. I don't know her last name."

"Are you Korra?" the young man behind the desk asked.

"Yeah," Korra answered, stretching toward the opposite side of the counter for a box of tissues. "Can I just…?" Before the guy could respond she pulled a handful… or two… of tissues from the box, using one to dry her hand and wrapping the others around the cups so she'd make it the remaining distance to wherever Asami was.

"Miss Sato said to send you to the garage."

"Garage?" Korra repeated curiously, following the direction of the guy's finger as he pointed toward the elevators. Wait, did he say… "Sato?" The receptionist's chin dropped with a nod. "As in heir to Future Industries, Sato?"

"She owns it now," he said slowly, because clearly Korra needed the exposition, "but, yeah."

Korra set her arms on the counter and buried her face in them, groaning, "oh my god." Weeks. For _weeks_ she'd been pestering the CEO of a major, successful corporation, and had no idea. She'd called Asami freaking Sato, owner of Future Industries, 'Salami.' She'd called her Salami to her face… Korra picked up her head and grabbed the tissue-wrapped drinks. "How do I get to the garage?"

The receptionist pointed to the elevators again. "Just go down one floor to the basement."

Korra gave him a grateful smile and headed to the elevators. For being such a big corporation, there weren't many people around. Sure, it had taken her a while to get here, but it was only just after three in the afternoon. She'd have thought this place would be buzzing with life, when the only other person around was a man in a nice suit waiting for an elevator at her side. He was going up though, so when the elevator to take Korra down arrived she got on it alone.

It took her one floor below to the basement, opening up to a bright garage full of workbenches and tools and cars that were in pieces. Definitely not the kind of place she'd expect to find Asami, but maybe she came down here to monitor employees or something. Or, that's what Korra would have thought if it weren't completely empty. The only person in the entire garage was someone bent over the hood of an expensive looking sports car. All Korra could make out was the grease-stained cargo pants with an equally dirty rag hanging out the back pocket.

"Excuse me," she called to the person working on the car as she paced to the nearest empty tool bench, "I'm looking for Asami Sato."

"Who's looking?" asked the muffled voice.

As Korra answered, the person straightened up and turned around, and it _was_ Asami, and her jaw fell open so the end of her name drawled on for a few full seconds. "Korra…"

She didn't know what to say either. She'd had a witty remark all lined up for when she finally saw Asami. A fake fumble of 'one extra hot barista… I mean coffee, for Asami,' but Korra faltered and forgot the line, because Asami wasn't in business attire like literally _every_ time Korra had ever seen her. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her white tank top was as dirty as her pants. There was even a smudge of black grease across the side of her chin. As Asami strode over she pulled the rag from her back pocket and used it to wipe her hands, returning it to the same pocket when she was done.

Instead of getting anything out, all Korra could do was silently extend the cup. "Thank you so much," Asami said happily, taking her drink. Korra gave an easy nod. "No, seriously, I needed this." She took a sip and set it down on the table. "I needed a break too." As she spoke she ushered Korra to sit on a stool at the workbench, and sank down into the one next to it. "I'm glad you came."

Korra was still confused and overwhelmed and, honestly, _reeling_. Her eyes kept wandering around the garage because it was that much of a shock. It was one thing to find out Asami actually _owned_ Future Industries. It was another to find her all greased up and dirty. Frankly, it was an entirely different kind of hot, and as Korra's gaze wandered back to Asami, she found herself looking the CEO up and down. Scanning the tank top and slim fitted cargo pants. Taking in all the creamy skin that was exposed by the tank top and pulled back hair that was usually covered in business attire. Even the smudge of grease beside her chin and the various smears on her arms added an unexpectedly gritty sex appeal.

By the time Korra met Asami's eyes again it had been an inappropriate amount of seconds. Korra's cheeks flushed instantly, because she had so blatantly just been checking Asami out and Asami was _smirking_ , that same coy tilt at one corner of her mouth like there had been that morning at the coffee shop. It was _embarrassing_ , being so caught off guard and unwittingly flustered by an aesthetic. However, Korra's brain snapped to it, and she remembered something about a witty remark.

Korra pointed to the coffee Asami was holding. "I brought that extra hot barista just for you." Wait… that wasn't right. Asami's smile grew immediately, and Korra's cheeks shaded even darker and _ugh_. "Shit, okay," Korra stammered, and Asami laughed at the growing red on her cheeks. "That came out wrong. I had a thing I wanted to say and then you threw me off looking like that and-" and Korra was babbling, which only made Asami laugh harder, but Asami was apparently too nice to laugh in Korra's face because her lips were pursed tight with the effort to keep her smile under control. "Did you completely plan this or what?" Korra asked with an embarrassed chuckle.

Instead of answering Asami asked amusedly, "What was the thing you wanted to say?"

"The thing?" Korra waved it off. "No, nothing." But Asami's eyebrows rose with curiosity. "It was stupid."

"Come on," Asami pleaded. "Was it a pick up line?" The bashful hand Korra threw over her face answered the affirmative. "Please," Asami whined.

Korra sighed, unable to remove her hand because she simply _couldn't_ look Asami in the eyes as she said it. "I was going to say 'one extra hot barista, I mean coffee, for Asami.'" Asami laughed out loud, and Korra instantly beckoned her hands. "See? I told you it was stupid."

"No, no," Asami said hastily, still giggling. "It was cute." Though Korra was still embarrassed, Asami wasn't making it worse, and Korra was able to laugh about it too. "And I assure you, both the coffee and the barista are hot." Korra offered a shy but grateful smile, trying so hard not to shade at the compliment. "What are you drinking, by the way?" Asami asked, motioning to Korra's cup. "So I know for next time."

"Chai latte," Korra answered, noting the curious furrowing of Asami's eyebrows. "Want to try it?" When Asami nodded she pushed the drink across the table, watching while Asami put the cup to her lips and took a small sip.

She set the cup down, green eyes meeting Korra's for a moment before she took one more sip just to be sure. "It's pretty good," she said, handing it back. "I need the caffeine in a macchiato though."

Korra took her cup back, and as she raised it to her lips to take a drink of her own she noticed that Asami's lipstick had left a red print on the lid. For some reason the evidence of Asami's lips on her cup put the smallest jitter in her stomach. It was unexpected to say the least… and kind of sexy, if she were to be completely honest. But the last thing Korra needed was to embarrass herself even more by letting Asami see her hesitate, so she drank from the cup and then set it down.

"So," Korra said, glancing around the garage. "You're a CEO slash… mechanic?"

"Officially I'm an engineer," Asami said amusedly.

"And CEO is just an unimpressive afterthought?" Korra teased.

Asami smiled, but she didn't look nearly as entertained as Korra had hoped as she replied, "I sort of fell into the title."

Korra took in the sudden seriousness in Asami's eyes, how she looked like it wasn't a huge accomplishment being the CEO of a major corporation. "Why do you look like there's a story there?"

"You really don't know?" Asami asked in surprise. Korra shook her head. "Oh," she breathed, shifting almost uncomfortably in her seat. "My dad was CEO until he got caught insider trading." Her green eyes fell to the surface of the table. "It nearly ruined the company, but I'm trying to recover what I can."

"Oh," Korra murmured with sudden understanding. _That's_ why Asami was always so busy that she had to take calls even while in line for coffee. _That's_ why she was CEO at such a young age. Her dad was in jail and left her in charge of the tarnished family business. "Wow," she said gently, "I'm really sorry you're going through that." Then Korra let out a hard sigh and buried her face in her hands again. "And this whole time I've been giving you shit for being on the phone at the café."

"It's okay," Asami said, and though she sounded sincere Korra left her face covered because she was blushing, and she groaned her embarrassment. "Seriously," Asami chuckled, reaching forward and pulling Korra's hands away. "I've been really stressed lately, but your daily sass gave me something to smile about." Asami shrugged self-consciously. "I wanted to thank you." As she released Korra's hands Asami realized she hadn't completely cleaned the engine grease off of hers, and she'd left an oily smudge across Korra's dark skin. "Sorry," Asami apologized, and this time _she_ blushed as she clumsily reached for a tissue, and for some reason Korra liked that, a _lot_. Liked the adorable shade of pink that colored Asami's delicate cheeks and liked that it made her more human. It evened the playing field a bit, in Korra's opinion.

"It's fine," Korra laughed. It was just a little grease. Little enough that she simply wiped the back of her hand on her jeans and it was gone, but Asami was making a real effort now to clean up. "You've got some," Korra said, motioning to the grease on Asami's chin. In an attempt to be helpful she grabbed a tissue, timidly raising it to Asami's face. "I'll just…"

And Asami made no protest. She let Korra's fingers set gently on her chin, holding it in place while she carefully dabbed away the smudge with a tissue. It only took a couple seconds to clean it off, but once she was done she realized Asami was staring at her, and her hands stayed on Asami's chin because she froze. They locked eyes and Korra couldn't bring herself to pull her hands away, because they'd looked at each other before but never _this_ intensely. It lasted a long span of seconds, Korra powerless to break it first because it was _Asami_ , and she had the most gorgeous green eyes and why would Korra ever want to look anywhere else.

Then Asami's eyes fell to Korra's lips, and Korra realized the position she'd put them both in by touching Asami's face the way she was. And maybe Asami was thinking about it in the same way Korra was thinking about it, but instead of leaning in or saying something flirtatious she yanked her hands away self-consciously. "Sorry."

"No, I-" Though one corner of Asami's lips curled with the hint of an amused smile, she looked almost as embarrassed as Korra felt. "Thank you."

"Yeah, it's no problem," Korra said shyly, unable to keep her eyes from dropping to Asami's lips again, and her face flushed immediately because she had to stop being so damn _obvious_. She had to get a grip because this awkwardness wouldn't be cute forever. But god, Asami was nice and beautiful and just… _intimidating_. "I got to give it to you," Korra began, putting every mental effort toward sounding at ease, "you're not at all what I expected."

Asami smiled at that. "What did you expect?"

"Um," Korra hesitated, letting out an embarrassed laugh as she said, "Well, you always dress so snazzy when you come into the café… I kind of thought you'd be prissy and, I don't know, arrogant."

"Well," Asami laughed, "I'm glad I'm not what you expected." Korra winced, feeling guilty for even saying it when Asami clearly wasn't like that at all. "Don't apologize," Asami said knowingly, "I don't know what _I_ expected when I ordered on my cell phone all the time."

"In your defense," Korra said readily, "most people I've encountered that are as attractive and successful as you have a habit of not being very pleasant."

"Attractive?" Asami asked, with a flirtatious smirk that successfully confirmed Korra's cheeks would be in a constant state of rosiness for the rest of this… date?

"Yeah," Korra agreed shyly, taking in the way Asami's smile grew the more timid she got. So Korra reached over and boldly gave her knee a playful nudge. "Don't act like you don't know." Asami laughed again, and though it was obvious she knew she was attractive, she still looked flattered by the compliment. "So yeah," Korra said seriously, "you're actually really sweet."

"Thank you," Asami said. She took a sip of her coffee only to set it down with a sense of urgency. "We have to stop talking about me though." And she motioned to Korra. "What do you do for fun? Do you have any pets? Do you live alone? What's your favorite color?"

Korra chuckled at the onslaught of questions. The more she talked to Asami, though she remained somewhat intimidating on the sheer basis of how gorgeous she was, Korra realized there wasn't anything to be afraid of. "For fun… I like to work out."

"It shows," Asami muttered under her breath.

"Yeah?" Korra laughed, invitingly raising one arm to flex her bicep.

She wasn't surprised when Asami reached out to squeeze it for a second. What she didn't expect was for Asami's hand to run up the length of it, fingers tracing the cuts all the way up to her shoulder as if Asami had completely forgotten they hardly knew each other. Not that Korra minded… In fact, she was staring again, watching Asami's bright green eyes trail up her arm, up her shoulder, up her face. When their gazes met and Asami finally remembered herself she pulled away quickly, her cheeks tinting.

Korra absolutely adored it every time Asami blushed. She liked it so much that even though Asami had been gracious every time Korra was embarrassed, Korra couldn't be so modest. "You know," she said teasingly, "I usually charge for that."

"Add it to my IOU," Asami quipped readily, her eyes narrowing with a playful glare.

"I'll start you a tab," Korra laughed.

Asami nodded, giggling at the banter, but she truly must have still been embarrassed, because she asked distractedly, "Pets?"

"I have a dog, Naga," Korra replied, "but she lives with my parents because she's way too big for an apartment. Which I share with my ex, Mako, and his brother, Bolin." Korra met Asami's gaze, answering the last question with a flirtatious smile. "Right now my favorite color is green."

Korra thought that was pretty freaking smooth, but Asami wasn't fazed. "Wait," she asked, "you live with your ex?"

"Yeah…" Korra answered hesitantly, and at the skeptical look on Asami's face she couldn't help but laugh. "I swear it's not as weird as it sounds."

"Really?" Asami asked in almost entertained disbelief. "Because I can't imagine living with any of my exes."

Korra gave an eager nod. "We fought a lot when we were together. Now that we're just friends it's a lot better. They're like family." Asami nodded, appearing satisfied with the explanation. "What about you? With all those questions."

"What even _is_ fun?" Asami asked sarcastically, at which Korra chuckled. "I like to drive. It would be cruel of me to keep a pet because of how busy I am. I don't live alone if you count the butler." Asami paused, making sure to deliberately hold Korra's stare while she finished, "And right now my favorite color is blue."

"Hey!" Korra complained through a laugh. "That's _my_ line!" All Asami did was snicker, so Korra playfully threw a wadded up tissue at her. "And you think _I'm_ the smartass."

"Couldn't help it," Asami giggled, reaching up to thumb the corner of Korra's mouth. "I like your smile."

"Yeah, well," Korra grumbled lightheartedly, feeling her cheeks tint _again_ , "you bring it out of me."

For the second time since Korra had been there, their eyes locked. Only, this time Korra actually considered the real possibility. She wondered exactly what Asami was thinking, because it had probably been less than an hour and Korra was thinking about how Asami would react if she kissed her. Her eyes even dropped to Asami's lips again, to their perfect fullness and the bright red lipstick. But it was too soon. Way too soon and there was no way Korra could do it, no matter how much she wanted to, so she cleared her throat and glanced around distractedly.

"Can I ask you something?" Korra asked. Asami nodded. "Why'd you give me your number? Like, I know you said I was making you smile but… Is this just to thank me?"

Asami studied Korra for a few silent moments, taking in what Korra was actually asking. As in, was this a date because Asami actually liked Korra, or was it just because she felt like she owed Korra something. "Not exactly…" Asami said, shaking her head. "Well, I mean, if you weren't interested I was just going to buy you coffee to thank you. But I gave you my number because I noticed you, months ago before you ever started being a smartass. Then you started being a smartass and I'm interested," Asami hesitated, only to clarify a moment later, "In you."

As hard as Korra tried, she couldn't stop the extremely delighted smirk tugging at her lips. That was straightforward, and honest, and so _not_ what Korra ever would've expected to hear from the 'cellphone lady.' It made her so giddy she couldn't help but tease, "Is that business speak for saying you have a crush on me?" To Korra's surprise Asami blushed again, and her smirk turned into a full-blown grin.

The fact that Asami's cheeks had shaded made it completely shocking when she said confidently, "It's business speak for I've kind of had a crush on you for months." Asami shrugged. "I'd been wanting to talk to you, but I was always so busy. This morning I just couldn't take it anymore."

And now _Korra_ was blushing. Great. She'd been playing it so cool and then Asami had to ruin it by being blunt. "It's the biceps, isn't it?" Korra asked playfully.

"What can I say?" Asami laughed her agreement. "I have a weakness for hot coffee and baristas."

"Wait till you see my abs," Korra teased without thinking, only realizing how obnoxiously flirtatious that was once it was already out of her mouth.

Asami didn't miss a beat. "What's _that_ going to cost me?"

But it came out even more flirtatious and suggestive than Korra's remark had been, and at the intense fluttering it caused in her stomach, Korra flushed. "Uh," she said, huffing with laughter because as much as she loved the flirting she was still blushing about it like an idiot. "A couple more dates."

"Deal," Asami chuckled without hesitation.

"Alright," Korra adjusted on her seat so her stomach was more exposed. She knew it wasn't necessarily the deal that Asami get a taste now, but honestly, she really liked the way Asami's hand felt exploring her bicep. And Asami hadn't yet seemed to mind the flirting. "I'll give you a preview." Korra patted her stomach. "Go ahead."

Asami laughed, but didn't decline the opportunity to reach out and put her hand flat on Korra's abs. Sure there was still a shirt between Asami's palm and Korra's skin, but Asami's cheeks tinted as she pressed into the defined muscles. Korra was well aware of the effect her brawn usually had, but this time Asami seemed to be making an effort not to go overboard, because she removed her hand after only a few brief seconds.

She refused to meet Korra's eyes as she asked, "Are you _trying_ to get me flustered?" And a moment later she added under her breath, "Show off."

"Hey," Korra said matter-of-factly, "You flustered me a couple times already, it's only fair."

"Did I?" Asami asked with genuine surprise.

"Maybe…" Korra mumbled, doing such a deliberately poor job of hiding the truth that Asami giggled. Korra scooted back more comfortably on her seat, laughing off their mutual playfulness. After a few seconds she glanced around the empty garage. "Where is everyone, anyway?"

Asami's eyes imitated Korra's, wandering around basement. "I made a corporate mandate that everyone goes home early on Fridays," she answered, "it helps with morale." She shrugged, watching the coffee cup in her hands instead of looking at Korra as she added, "Which has really been needed lately."

Korra hadn't known Asami long, but at the sudden shift in tone even she could see the exhaustion behind her eyes. It wasn't just physical and mental exhaustion from working so much either. It was emotional. Korra could only imagine how difficult it must be carrying the weight of the entire fate of a company, and on top of having her father in prison. If Korra knew for certain Asami wouldn't protest, she'd have probably insisted on dragging her away from work that very instant. "For what it's worth," Korra said encouragingly, and for extra comfort she reached out to place a hand on Asami's, "I think you being able to hold this company together is really impressive."

Asami glanced down at their hands, and despite all the flirting, for a moment Korra worried the touch might have been too brazen. But then Asami turned her hand over, curling it around Korra's so she could run her thumb over Korra's knuckles. "Thanks, Korra," she said softly, glancing up to offer a small smile.

Korra gave an exaggerated grin, nodding toward the middle of the garage. "What's up with this car you're building?" she asked to change the subject.

"You want to see it?" Asami asked, an instant light in her eyes when Korra nodded. She didn't let go of Korra's hand as she left her seat, and as Asami led her over to the car their fingers intertwined. "You know how Future Industries makes the affordable Satomobile so pretty much anyone can drive?" Korra nodded again. "Well," Asami motioned to the sleek body of the car, "I love driving on the race track, and I wanted to design an affordable sports car so other people could experience it too."

"You literally designed and built this entire thing?" Korra asked in awe. Though she wanted nothing more than to keep holding Asami's hand, she was so amazed with the sporty, aerodynamic design that she couldn't help but let go. She set both hands on the car, doing a circle around it while tracing her fingers over the subtle curves.

"For the most part," Asami answered, eyes following Korra around the vehicle. "I don't actually make the parts, but I put it together." Korra returned to where Asami was standing, casually setting an elbow on the roof of the car. "Once I perfect the design we can send it to mass production."

"It's amazing," Korra praised. As Asami gave a grateful smile her eyes fell briefly to the empty hand hanging at Korra's side. Korra knew what the look meant, and when she reached out Asami took her hand immediately. "I'd definitely buy one."

"You like to drive?" Asami asked, slipping her fingers through Korra's again, and she took a step closer to put her own elbow on the roof, mirroring Korra's stance.

"Oh no, I can't drive," Korra chuckled. "But if I could, I'd buy one."

"I'll teach you sometime!" Asami beamed at the suggestion. "It can be our second date." Her mouth tugged to the side in consideration. "Or… the first date, since you bringing me coffee at work isn't exactly official."

Korra made an indicative glance toward their clasped hands. "It feels pretty official." Then Korra laughed to herself, saying teasingly, "Or you're one hell of a salesperson."

"You caught me," Asami chuckled. "I asked you out in order to sell a car."

"Your talents are never ending," Korra said through an exaggerated sigh. "I should've known this was too good to be true." Asami gave a small laugh, but after a moment she fell quiet. "What?" Korra asked, somewhat concerned by the sudden pensiveness.

Asami's mouth opened the slightest bit like she was about to say something, but it closed again before she got anything out. It took a few more seconds, but then she inhaled a deep breath and said shyly, "I actually _really_ like you."

Korra felt her cheeks tint, and though she was still being playful, she was also a bit serious when she said, "That's good, because I might've actually bought a car if that was the only way to get a date from you."

Korra wasn't sure if that was too playful for how serious Asami was being, but their eyes met and for a short moment everything froze. It was like Asami wasn't sure what to say or how to respond. Then the very next second Asami had crossed what little space was between them and pressed her lips to Korra's. She should've known it was coming. Even _she'd_ been thinking about doing it this whole time, but it was so unexpected that Korra froze from the pure shock, and it was so brief that she didn't get a chance to snap out of it before Asami pulled back. At seeing the horrified look on Asami's face, Korra wished more than anything that she'd reacted faster.

"I'm so sorry," Asami blurted hastily. "I'm not… that's not a normal thing… that I do. Without asking. I wasn't thinking."

Korra's tongue subconsciously ran over her bottom lip. She could taste Asami's lipstick, and now that she'd had a few seconds to process it all, it was sinking in that Asami had actually _kissed_ her. With those full, bright red lips. And Korra nearly groaned at how stupid it was not to have reacted. That had been her chance, and she missed it.

"You could, um," Korra began shyly, raising a hand to trace her thumb under Asami's lip, where the kiss had smudged her lipstick. "You could stop thinking again, if you want."

She'd hardly finished the statement before Asami surged forward, and this time Korra didn't miss her chance. Her hand was already at Asami's face, so when their lips met she cupped the side of Asami's jaw. And though the kiss was a bit hesitant, she could feel in the willingness of Asami's lips that she hadn't been joking when she said that she'd had a crush on Korra for months, or that she really liked her. It wasn't just some flirtatious remark meant for flattery. Asami was kissing her like she'd thought about it, like she'd been thinking about it this whole time too and the hesitation wasn't on account of desire. Maybe it was happening a little fast for Korra, who'd only just realized how attracted she was to Asami this morning, but it didn't matter.

It didn't matter because it was soft and open and it felt like the most natural thing in the world. When that hesitation melted away it felt easy and comfortable, and they established a rhythm instantly, as if they'd done this a million times. As if they were only meant to kiss each other and why the hell had it taken _this_ long? When Asami's lips parted to kiss Korra more deeply, all she could wonder was why she hadn't kissed Asami when she was thinking about it earlier. When she dropped her hands to set them at Asami's waist, and felt Asami's warm palms cup her face, she wondered why she'd been so unsure.

Because _this_ , this was how it was supposed to be. Korra was supposed to be completely consumed by the gentle guidance of Asami's lips. Consumed by the inviting delicacy of her smell, of the sweet fading perfume and the subtle bitterness of engine grease. She was supposed to feel the hurricane of excitement in her stomach every time Asami's lips closed around her bottom one. She was supposed to feel the skip in her heart when she pulled Asami closer, and when Asami released a hard, excited breath through her nose. And definitely, most _definitely_ Korra was supposed to feel the crashing heat barrel through her body when Asami's tongue slipped past her lips.

It was so overwhelming that Korra's fingertips dug into the small of Asami's back, drawing her nearer even though they were already pressed flush together. Even though Korra was already straining upward to let Asami know that she didn't want this to end. She didn't want Asami's hands to leave her face. Didn't want to miss out on a single stroke from her smooth tongue.

She wasn't sure who made the move, but all at once Korra's back was against the side of the car and Asami was pushing into her. Korra's hands ran up her back, too wrapped up in the feel of her to care about being modest. But Asami's palm fell to Korra's collarbone, and when Asami held her in place and pulled away Korra realized she'd been the one to make the move. She'd tried for more and Asami stopped it. Even though she stopped the kiss, however, she didn't step back, or take her hand from Korra's chest. It lingered, just like her lips lingered an inch from Korra's so she could feel each charged breath against her mouth.

"Sorry," Korra said on a whisper, wondering if Asami wasn't moving because she was still wrapped up in her arms. "Too much." She also wondered if she should let go, but Asami hadn't tried to remove herself.

"No, it's okay," Asami said, planting a careful peck against the corner of Korra's mouth, like if it was any more than that she might lose herself again. "It wasn't." Her green eyes skittered to the side, as if to motion for Korra to look. "But security was already getting a show, and that's definitely not what I pay them for."

Korra followed the direction Asami's eyes had drifted until she found the camera at the corner of the basement. Her cheeks colored darkly, and with an embarrassed groan she dropped her forehead against Asami's shoulder. "You're killing me, Sato."

She felt Asami's shoulder shift with a laugh. "Sorry." When Korra picked her head back up Asami laughed a little harder, lifting both hands to swipe her thumbs around Korra's mouth. "I got lipstick all over you."

"Thanks," Korra muttered without moving her lips, "If I got home with red smeared all over the place I'd never hear the end of it." Asami laughed and edged the back of her hand around her own mouth. "Hey, Asami," Korra prompted, and when she finally let Asami's waist go she took a step back, if only to give Korra some space to breathe.

"Yeah?" Asami asked.

Korra reached out to retake Asami's hand. "I really like you too."

"That's good," Asami said, copying Korra's tone from earlier as she folded their hands together. "Now you won't have to buy a car to get another date with me."

Korra chuckled, rolling her eyes and muttering sarcastically, "I _swear_ I'm not the smartass here."

Asami laughed at that, reaching out to swipe at a spot of lipstick she'd missed on Korra's mouth. "I won't wear lipstick next time either."

"No," Korra said instantly. Asami's eyebrows rose amusedly, and Korra blushed at having reacted so strongly. "I don't mind it," she added calmly, "um, the lipstick. I like it."

Asami's tinted lips curled with a smile. "Okay."

"Okay," Korra repeated happily. A long beat of silence passed between them, during which Korra was so tempted to kiss her again that she nearly did. She caught herself though, and released Asami's hand to sidestep away from the car. "I should probably let you get back to work." Asami nodded knowingly, and followed to walk Korra to the elevator. "I'll see you in the morning?" Korra asked, because even though tomorrow was Saturday she'd noticed Asami came in on the weekends too. "For all of two seconds." As they reached the elevator she turned, adding playfully, "And don't think this means you're getting free coffee."

" _That_ puts a wrench in things," Asami teased, pressing the up button. Korra deadpanned, a look that only successfully made her laugh. "I'll see you in the morning," she confirmed. "For all of two seconds." The elevator arrived, and before Korra got on Asami pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Bye."

Korra got on the lift, but as the doors started to close she stretched her arms out to stop them. "Wait, wait, wait." Asami's eyebrows rose curiously. "Is security upstairs? Is it going to be like doing a walk of shame when they see me?"

Asami giggled, leaning into the doors to plant one final kiss on Korra's lips. "Bye, Korra."

"Bye," Korra chuckled, letting the doors close.

The moment they were shut she pushed the lobby button and threw her arms in the air happily. She _made out with Asami_. She wanted to yell it, but then she realized there was yet another camera in the corner of the elevator and it was bad enough already that if security was watching they'd seen her victory arms. Korra cleared her throat, purposefully avoiding looking at the camera as she blushed for the millionth time that day. But she was still almost too giddy to care. She made out with _Asami_ , and if the speed with which her crush had developed over the span of this date was any indication, Korra knew she was already in deep.


	3. Chapter 3

_*** Am I determined for Korra and Asami to make out at least once every chapter? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ I mean go big or go home, right?_  
 _The next chapter will be an almost immediate continuation of this one, I just didn't want the word count to be obnoxious so I split it into 2. Hope you like :D_

...

The moment Asami walked into the café, Korra felt her lips start to curl. Fortunately she was making drinks today instead of standing behind the cash register, and it wouldn't freak out a customer if she looked like she was grinning for no reason. The line was small because it was early afternoon, so Korra only had to make a couple more drinks before she could take her break and hang out with Asami for a few minutes.

Asami was _busy_. Crazy busy, and it had been two weeks since that night in the garage and they hadn't been able to go on a real date yet. They texted constantly, and Asami had been making up for it by coming into the café during lunch, but it was getting to the point where Korra wanted more.

When she met Asami's gaze, she nodded to the side, silently letting her know to head out back. Once Korra had finished making all the drinks, she told her boss she was taking her break, and wandered to the alley behind the shop to meet Asami. Sometimes they drank coffee because Asami needed the pick-me-up. Other times they talked and laughed until Korra's break was over. A couple times they'd made out the entire fifteen minutes. But it wasn't _satisfying_. Those fifteen minutes every day weren't nearly long enough to have a _real_ conversation, or to fulfill the Asami-craving that had been building in Korra every day. She just wanted… more. As weird as it sounded, she _missed_ Asami. So when Korra made her way out back, though she couldn't help it that she smiled when they saw each other, she wasn't as cheerful as she usually was.

"Hey," she greeted, striding to a stack of wooden crates and hopping up to sit on them.

Asami could tell instantly that Korra wasn't too happy, Korra knew it by the way her green eyes took on a deep thoughtfulness. "Hi," Asami said, pulling her back off the wall she'd been leaning against and walking over. She stood between Korra's legs and leaned in to plant a careful peck on her lips, one Korra normally returned enthusiastically. Only, now it wasn't so eager. "What's wrong?" Asami asked.

Korra sighed, and then shrugged because she just didn't know how to say it. How could she tell Asami, who she hadn't been dating for long, that she felt like they weren't together enough? Weren't you supposed to take it slow anyway and only see each other a couple times a week before things got serious?

Korra deliberately glanced around the alley they were in. "This," she said hesitantly.

It didn't seem to make sense, because Asami's eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "Whatever it is," she said gently, "you can tell me." And she glanced at the nice watch on her wrist. "Am I late?"

"No," Korra answered. "I just… want to do something _real_ with you." She shrugged again, and because she hated feeling like she was pouting, said playfully, "I let you feel my abs. You owe me a real date."

Asami didn't laugh. "Oh," she breathed, green eyes dropping guiltily.

"I know you're busy," Korra said apologetically, feeling bad for making Asami feel bad. She had enough to stress about, and Korra knew it.

"No, you're right," Asami told her, her eyes gaining a hint of that playfulness Korra loved. "You _did_ let me feel your abs." Korra chuckled, and Asami rested her hands on Korra's knees, saying sincerely, "I'm sorry. I haven't dated in a while, and sometimes I forget life doesn't revolve around work."

"I mean," Korra began, setting her hands on top of Asami's, "It doesn't have to revolve around me either."

Asami gave a warm smile, inching closer to set her forehead against Korra's. "I have to remind myself you can't tell how much I think about you, and that thinking about you doesn't count as actual dating."

As much as she wanted to, Korra resisted kissing Asami to say teasingly, "You think about me a lot, huh?"

"Only all day, every day," Asami answered sarcastically. "You know, it's _your_ fault I've been getting so little work done lately."

The laugh Korra let out caused her to pull away from Asami, and she rolled her eyes. "If you're not getting any work done, we should _actually_ hang out so it's worth it."

"How about tonight?" Asami asked.

"Really?" Korra's eyes widened, and when Asami nodded her mouth pulled into a happy grin. "Okay." At a sudden idea, Korra gasped excitedly. "I got it! Bolin has this mover premiere thing tonight and Mako is going with him. You can come over to our place. I'll cook for you."

"I like the sound of that," Asami agreed. "I'll come over at seven. What should I bring?"

"Bring yourself." Korra grabbed Asami's face in her hands, and she was in such a good mood now compared to a minute ago that she pressed a playfully rough kiss to Asami's lips. "And maybe some wine."

"Okay," Asami laughed. Korra kissed her again, so joyfully that it was a series of pecks along the edges of her mouth. After a few moments Asami snorted and pulled away. "I'm going to go," she said, giggling at the immediate pout Korra gave. "I'm going to rush through all my work, because if there's more of this," she kissed Korra indicatively, "waiting for me tonight, then I don't want to miss it."

"Good thinking," Korra agreed, teasingly shooing Asami away. "Go, what are you waiting for?"

"Impatient," Asami grumbled through a laugh, and they kissed one last time. "See you tonight."

After Asami rounded the corner out of sight, Korra hurried back into the café. There was still about an hour left of her shift, but she was so excited that the time flew by. At one o'clock Korra ended work, and on her way home she stopped by the grocery store to pick up what she'd need to make dinner. She had it all planned out. Everyone liked Italian food, right? So she'd make a killer lasagna, heat up some garlic bread, and for dessert she'd serve gelato. With whatever wine Asami brought over, it would all be the perfect combination, and Korra could woo her with a nice candle lit dinner. Crap… candles. She'd have to go back out to the store and get those.

She started making the lasagna the moment she got home, since it would take a while to cook, though her excitement might have caused her to overestimate a little bit. By the time the lasagna was done it was only four-thirty. Korra left it in the oven to keep it warm, and headed out for a brief trip to the store, texting Asami her address on the way there. Once she returned home with candles she got in the shower to finish getting ready. It was going to be so perfect, but she didn't want it to look like she'd tried _too_ hard. So she dressed a little nicer than usual, but still casual, donning a pair of dark jeans and a black polo.

Six o'clock. Still an hour before Asami should arrive. In order to kill some time, Korra plopped down on the couch, grabbing her laptop to browse the Internet. It actually did a fair job of making time go by faster, because at six-thirty her cellphone started ringing with a call from Asami.

"Hey!" Korra answered it, jumping off the couch to start setting up the candles. "Are you on the way?"

There was no answer for a few seconds, and then Asami sighed. "I'm so sorry."

 _Oh no_. Korra's face fell. "…Are you not coming?"

"It's an emergency," Asami said, and though Korra could hear the genuine guilt in Asami's voice, it did little to make her feel better. "There was a misunderstanding, and one of my primary investors for the Sato Racer threatened to pull funding unless I personally meet him _right now_." Korra let out a severely disappointed breath, unsure of what to say. "Korra, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine." But it wasn't fine, and Korra was hurt and she didn't want Asami to know just how much. "I'll talk to you later."

She hung up before Asami could say anything, and tossed her phone onto the coffee table in front of the couch. Then she fell backward onto the cushions with a heavy sigh. This _sucked_. She wasn't even mad about the fact that she'd put so much effort into cooking. What she'd been looking forward to more than anything was spending time with Asami, and now she wouldn't get to do that. It was _so_ disappointing, and Korra felt a familiar tension at the back of her throat but she wouldn't let herself get teary-eyed.

The remote for the TV was on the coffee table, and as she reached for it her cell phone vibrated with a text message. She didn't feel like checking it though, it was probably Asami. She clicked on the remote and flipped channels to some prank show she hoped would take her mind off it. It would've been better if Mako and Bolin were here to distract her, but they weren't, and TV proved useless. The gym. That would help.

Korra trudged to her bedroom to throw on some gym shorts and a tank top, grabbed her music player, and then walked a couple blocks to the twenty-four hour gym she always went to. _This_ was the distraction she needed; it was hard to think about being let down when she had to focus on counting repetitions. She spent hours there, figuring it'd be easier to fall asleep if she was exhausted, and then headed back to the apartment. She'd left her phone at home, so when she rounded the corner of the hallway her apartment was in she was _shocked_ to see Asami was there, sitting on the floor right outside her door. When Asami saw Korra she stood, with a wine-shaped, brown paper bag in one hand.

Korra pulled her ear buds out of her ears and trudged to the door. "It's late," she murmured, sticking the key into the handle. It was after ten pm.

"I know," Asami said quietly, with so much sincere regret on her face it looked like she might cry. "I'm really sorry, Korra."

It still hurt, and the remorse Asami so clearly felt did little to alleviate that. But they were adults. Korra could be adult about this. So when she pushed open the door she motioned for Asami to head in first, and then closed it behind them. "Did you fix whatever was wrong with the investor?" Korra asked, clicking on the lights and striding to the kitchen, where she put her music player down on the counter.

Asami's green eyes scanned her cautiously, as if she thought there was a jab or some sarcasm in the question. When she realized Korra was being sincere, she nodded. "Yeah."

Korra held her hand out for the bag Asami was holding, and after Asami handed it over she grabbed a wine opener and a couple of wine glasses from the cupboards. Though she'd grabbed two cups, she only poured one, which she handed to Asami. "You hungry?"

All Asami did was nod, looking too guilt-ridden and unsure of herself to say much. Korra busied herself with putting some cool lasagna on a plate and heating it up in the microwave, feeling Asami's eyes on her the whole time. Once the food was reheated, she carried the dish to the dining table and pulled out a chair. Asami carried her drink over and sat down, allowing Korra to push the chair in so she could eat. It probably would've been good etiquette for Korra to eat right now too, but honestly, she needed a few minutes to process that Asami had still come, and to get over the hurt before being able to have an actual conversation.

"Let me shower real quick," Korra said. "I'll be right back."

Leaving Asami at the dining table, Korra wandered to her bedroom in order to shower. It didn't take nearly as long for her to get ready this time. Even though Asami was here, she didn't feel like putting as much effort into getting fancy. She threw on sweatpants and a fresh tank top, not bothering to dry her short hair before trudging back out to the living area. The shower had helped a little bit, and Korra was able to sit across the small table from Asami and feel ready to talk about it. Only, when she dropped down in her seat she noticed Asami's eyes were watery, and she couldn't help but wonder if she'd actually cried.

"I'm not mad," Korra said gently, and when Asami's soggy green eyes met hers, she shrugged. "I know shit happens."

"But you were so excited," Asami whispered, motioning to her half-empty plate. "You put so much effort into it, and I completely let you down."

Korra couldn't exactly disagree with that, but seeing Asami so broken up about it let Korra know that she never would've canceled if she had another option. "Did you come over just to apologize?"

"You weren't answering my texts or calls," she answered, and there was so much residual emotion left over from it that her eyes flooded again. "I was afraid I messed up _too_ badly… and that you wouldn't want to see me any more."

"It means a lot that you came," Korra shrugged again. She still wasn't in the best mood, and it was clear Asami wasn't either. They wouldn't have the fun, happy date they'd both been looking forward too, but that didn't mean they couldn't still spend time together. "You want to watch a mover or something?"

If the sigh Asami let out wasn't revealing enough, the wave of relief that washed over her face said it all. She nodded, and Korra led the way to the couch and plopped down on one end. As she grabbed the remote, however, Asami sat down on the opposite end, still too ashamed of herself to feel comfortable sitting closer.

But Korra _wanted_ her close, even if she wasn't entirely happy right now, so as she opened up the channel guide she glanced across the couch at Asami, eyes deliberately running over the space between them. "That's no way to make it up to me."

Asami gave a timid smile and scooted all the way across the cushions, until she was sitting right against Korra's side. There weren't many mover options, so Korra picked a simple one and then slouched down in her seat to kick her feet up on the coffee table. Normally she'd have been shy about initiating affection, especially with Asami, because even though they'd made out a few times already they'd yet to get handsy, and they'd certainly never cuddled. But Korra felt like she needed it, and with how guilty Asami obviously felt, she thought Asami needed it too. So once she'd slouched down comfortably she lifted her arm, slipping it around Asami's shoulders.

In spite of both their heavy emotions, it put a smile on Korra's face when Asami scooted in closer, and she didn't _just_ get closer. She put her feet up on the coffee table too, leaned her head back on Korra's shoulder and set her hand on Korra's thigh. The instant butterflies in Korra's stomach were almost enough to make up for everything. Even better was that after just thirty minutes of the mover Korra realized Asami had fallen asleep. It wasn't surprising, given how hard Asami worked. Korra was pretty exhausted too, and there was absolutely no way she was going to wake Asami up and make her go home.

Instead of moving, Korra sat there until she couldn't keep her eyes open either, and she fell asleep. A couple times during the night she woke up. First it was because Asami had adjusted, and stretched out over the couch to put her head in Korra's lap. Another time, half-asleep, Korra had grown uncomfortable with her own position and decided to lie down too, stretching out at Asami's side. The final time it was because Mako and Bolin had come home.

Korra couldn't see them, but Bolin's gasp was audible as he whispered loudly, "Korra brought a girl home!"

"Be quiet, bro," Mako murmured, "They're sleeping."

Korra was way too sleepy to respond, and didn't wake up again until early the next morning. Even without opening her eyes she could feel the exact position her and Asami were in. The realization might have made her nervous if she weren't still waking up, but she was too tired to worry, and instead her lips pulled into a smile. They were facing each other, Asami's arms wrapped tight around her waist and her face buried against Korra's chest. Korra had one of her own arms draped across Asami's back, and they were so close together on the narrow couch that even their legs were tangled.

It was amazing, and now that Korra was awake she really wanted to run her hand up and down Asami's back soothingly. She wanted to trace the shape of her waist or kiss her until she woke up. But this had never happened before, and Korra wasn't sure what the boundaries were. The last thing she needed was to creep Asami out by being overly affectionate. So she settled for leaving her hand in place over Asami's shoulder blades, casually moving her thumb through its range of motion. She savored the feel of Asami's arms around her and the hot exhales against the exposed part of her upper chest. Memorized the rhythm of Asami's breathing and cherished the way she smelled. Korra was definitely, without a doubt already in _so_ deep.

It was because she'd paid so much attention to Asami's breathing that she noticed the change. It got softer and shallower, and though Asami didn't move, Korra knew she'd woken up. For a few moments Korra considered not saying anything, because Asami didn't move and maybe she wanted to cherish this the same way Korra was. She had to know Korra was awake, because Korra's thumb was still doing that gentle motion over her shoulder blade.

"Morning," Korra said softly.

Asami shifted, pulling away from Korra's chest and inching upward so their faces were aligned. "Morning," she repeated, and because Korra clearly didn't mind the position they were in, Asami didn't bother untangling their arms or legs. Her green eyes wandered over Korra's face, a small smile brightening up her own. "You look happier."

Now that Asami was awake, Korra felt confident enough to run her hand over Asami's back. "Yeah," she agreed, tracing her fingertips down Asami's spine, loving the way Asami's eyes lidded at the contact. "It's hard not to be when I woke up like this. With you."

Asami's cheeks tinted faintly, but her smile broadened. "Does that mean I don't have to apologize for falling asleep on you last night?"

"That's the last thing you need to apologize for," Korra chuckled. Her eyes momentarily wandered past Asami, catching a glimpse of the clock on the wall. "Oh, man," Korra groaned, "I am _so_ late for work." Her shift was supposed to start at six am. It was almost eight, though truly, right now she couldn't care less.

For a few seconds Asami's gaze lingered on Korra's thoughtfully, and then she asked, "How would you feel about calling in today?"

Korra's eyebrows furrowed in shock. "What?"

"You call in, and I'll cancel everything I have," Asami explained. "We can spend the day together."

"Can you do that?" Korra asked in disbelief.

"I'm the boss," Asami said amusedly. "Of course I can."

"Are you sure?" Korra tried her best to give a stern look as she teased, "Because once you say 'yes' there's no way I'm letting you leave, even if there's an emergency."

"Yes, I'm sure," Asami giggled, nodding. "Hopefully I can make up for last night."

It was so exciting that Korra was pretty much completely over it already. She was happy. _So_ happy, because Asami was here, and they were close and cuddling, and they'd get to spend the entire day together. A _whole_ day. With that much time, the possibilities were endless. First things first, Korra wanted to keep cuddling. It was a completely different kind of intimacy than kissing, one Korra wouldn't have expected to get to so quickly with Asami. But she was realizing things with Asami weren't like anything she'd ever expected.

"Is it weird that we slept together?" Korra mused.

"Why?" Asami asked, a sparkle of amusement in her eyes. "Because we're doing everything out of order?"

"So it's not just me," Korra chuckled. "Remind me how it's normally supposed to go? Because this feels so right I can't remember."

"Well," Asami began with a soft laugh, "We're supposed to go on a real date first… or a couple. Then with the kissing." Asami shrugged. "Then I guess more dates. Sex. _Then_ sleeping together." Okay, but seriously hearing Asami say _that_ word made Korra's cheeks color darkly. _So_ damn darkly. "Really?" Asami asked sarcastically, not even bothering to hide how amused she was. "You're really blushing because I said sex."

"Oh my god, stop," Korra whined and laughed at the same time, shading even more, and she turned her head to bury her face in the couch.

Asami was laughing so thoroughly that Korra could feel her shaking, but she refrained from saying it again. It took a few moments, but eventually Korra felt like she had enough control over the blood flow to her cheeks that she unburied her face.

Asami was still snickering to herself when they locked gazes, but asked curiously, "Can I just ask you… does hearing that word make you uncomfortable, or… are you blushing for another reason?"

There was even a hint of concern in Asami's eyes, as if she truly thought she might have made Korra uncomfortable. But Korra was so far from uncomfortable when Asami said that. She'd been so in control of keeping her thoughts from wandering too far, only, when Asami said it she _actually_ thought about it. It may have just been for a second, but it was enough that she wondered if Asami could see it in her eyes, hence the heavy blushing.

"Another… reason…" Korra admitted haltingly.

"Okay," Asami smiled, appearing more than satisfied with that. Still, she changed the subject. "What do you want to do today?" For the first time, as she asked that, she loosened an arm from Korra's waist. It wasn't to remove it, but so she could slide her hand up Korra's arm. The warmth of it trailed all the way to Korra's face, where she brushed some of the hair away only to begin combing her fingers back along Korra's scalp.

Korra knew Asami had asked her a question, but the touch felt so blissfully amazing that she was instantly incoherent. Her eyes fluttered closed and her hand set more firmly on Asami's back. It was all she could do to keep from humming with every stroke Asami's fingers made through her hair. "That feels so good," Korra murmured weakly. And her eyes were closed but she'd swear she could _feel_ Asami's smile.

There was no answer right away, but Korra didn't mind because the motion continued, and if it kept going she might even fall back asleep. Then Asami prompted softly, "Korra?"

"Hm?" Korra responded in a short, euphoric hum.

Another pause before she asked quietly, "Can I kiss you?"

Korra opened her eyes, because they'd kissed enough times already that she thought Asami knew she could do it without asking. It caused Asami to stop massaging her head, and there was something so deep and new in her green eyes that it made Korra's heart skip. When Korra nodded, Asami tilted her head forward so gradually it took a handful of long seconds before their lips even brushed, but when they finally kissed Korra realized why she'd asked. It was _different_.

It wasn't rushed like the couple times they'd made out behind the coffee shop. It wasn't like their lighthearted pecks, or the lingering sweeps across cheeks when they needed to pause for breath. It wasn't uncertain, but it was soft. _So_ soft that Asami's mouth felt hardly there. It was so soft that the warmth of it was almost indistinguishable from the hot air Asami breathed when their lips opened. And it was slow. It was one long, solitary kiss, and Korra had let out two heavy breaths by the time their lips closed together again.

She let Asami's lips guide hers open once more, just as slowly and just as gently, as she shifted her hand to Asami's hip. But this time Asami's tongue made the barest graze against hers. It snuck past her lips so she had no idea it was coming, and the tip of it gifted a careful caress to the flat of her own. The unexpected rush of it caused Korra to inhale sharply, and her hand clutched at Asami's hip. It was for such a brief moment, and so delicate that all it did was tease. When Asami drew it away, the hand Korra had at her hip gripped harder, trying as desperately as she could in such a tender moment to bring Asami in for more.

It did exactly what Korra wanted, and where the kiss gained nothing in speed, it gained everything in depth. In urgency. Korra pulled her even closer so their lips pressed together more firmly, and they both simultaneously took in a hard breath that fueled the growing tension in the slowness of it. The next time Korra grasped Asami's hip Asami ground into her. It sparked such an unexpectedly strong reaction between her legs, and she wanted _more_. She wanted everything harder, and heavier. She wanted every touch from Asami's tongue to be sturdier, every roll of Asami's hips stronger, every breath faster and shallower. She wanted Asami's _hands_. Anywhere. Everywhere.

All Korra could think to do was turn. To roll and place herself on top so their bodies could get even closer, because Asami was too patient to do it herself. But there wasn't enough couch at Asami's back, so when Korra spun them, half of Asami's body angled downward off the edge. Korra slipped off, and had nothing to grip without taking Asami down with her, so she hit the hard floor alone. And shoulder first. And _fuck._

"Ow," Korra groaned, feeling her cheeks burn hot as she flopped onto her back, refusing to open her eyes because of how embarrassed she was.

There was no sound or response though, and after a few moments she got so curious about what Asami was doing that she looked. Asami had turned so she could peer over the side of the couch and down at Korra… and she was laughing… _so_ unbelievably _hard_ that no sound was coming out.

"I'm sorry," Asami eked with difficulty. "Are you okay?"

"My pride definitely isn't," Korra mumbled, huffing amusedly at herself. Asami snorted, still laughing so much that her eyes were filling with tears. "Yeah, yeah, I'm a klutz."

Asami took a few deep breaths, and though it didn't stop the chortling completely, it helped enough that she could speak. "I don't know how you manage to be so hot and so cute at the same time."

"Practice," she said sarcastically, still unwilling to get up. "Lots of practice."

"Honestly, Korra," Asami giggled, "I've never had such a rocky start to a relationship, but I kind of adore you."

Korra raised one eyebrow, finally pushing up to sit on the floor beside the couch, so her face was level with Asami's again. "Relationship?" she repeated smugly, leaning back on her hands. "Does that mean you're my girlfriend?"

"If I was," Asami started playfully, "Could I touch your abs again?"

Korra laughed, reaching up to affectionately push some of Asami's hair behind her ear and then cup her cheek. "If you were my girlfriend, you could touch them whenever you wanted."

Asami leaned forward off the couch just enough to press a kiss to Korra's lips. "Consider me off the market."

Korra grinned, and because she still had her hand on Asami's face she pulled her into another long kiss. It lasted long enough for Asami to reach down with one hand for Korra's abs. It wasn't a shock, considering she'd just said it was fine, but what she didn't expect was for Asami's fingers to slip under the hem of her tank top and meet skin. The contact sent such a powerful flood of arousal through her that Korra took in a startled breath, which pulled her away from Asami's lips.

"Sorry," Asami apologized instantly, yanking her hand back. "You said whenever I wanted…"

Korra inhaled deeply, doing her best to calm the incredibly overwhelming desire she felt so Asami wouldn't see it all over face. Because _that_ … that was _strong_. And it was way too soon to act on urges like that. Once she felt like she had more control of herself, she reached up for Asami's hand, carefully guiding it back down, beneath her shirt and to the flesh of her abdomen. "I meant it," she said, leaving Asami's hand and leaning in to continue that kiss. Their lips had barely skimmed when there was a familiar gasp from the hallway. It was followed by a shriek, surprisingly quiet for how high-pitched it was, and this time Korra pulled away from Asami because she was laughing. "Morning, Bolin," she greeted, turning to look at him.

Bolin ignored the greeting and shuffled closer, asking hysterically, "Is this the girl you've been refusing to talk about?"

 _Here we go_ , Korra thought. She knew she'd have to go through this eventually – the embarrassment of introducing Asami to Bolin and Mako.

"She refuses to talk about me?" Asami asked, sitting up and passing a fake scowl at Korra.

"I can't kiss and tell," Bolin said teasingly, imitating some of the things Korra had told him. "She might like her privacy, yada, yada, yada." He took in an exaggerated breath and then reached out for Asami's hand, giving it a lively shake. "It is so nice to meet you!"

"You too," Asami said as she shook with him. "Wait, I recognize you…" She squinted at him thoughtfully for a few seconds, and then her face lit up. "You're Nuktuk!"

Bolin put his fists to his hips and turned his chin up in a pose. "The one and only," he said proudly. "Have you seen my movers?"

"Um, no, actually," Asami admitted, wincing apologetically. "But I know Varrick. I've seen your posters."

"You know Varrick!" Bolin exclaimed happily. "This is great! How?"

"He tried moving in on Future Industries when my dad got arrested." Asami deadpanned. "Tried taking it from right under my nose."

"Varrick," Bolin laughed dryly, flicking his hand with awkward nonchalance, "Got to love him." He chuckled awkwardly again, but recovered a moment later and straightened enthusiastically. "So you own Future Industries? That's exciting."

"I guess you could say that," Asami agreed.

Korra pushed off the floor, figuring she might as well make breakfast since her alone time with Asami was officially over. "I'm going to make waffles. You hungry, Bolin?"

"Yes! So hungry!" he confirmed as Korra headed into the kitchen, and then to Asami, "Korra makes the _best_ waffles."

Before Korra could thank him, Mako came out of the hallway with his head down, focusing on the tie of his police uniform. "Bolin, have you seen my," but he glanced up at the last second and caught sight of Asami, finishing in awe, "badge…"

He simply stared, speechless for long enough that Asami laughed, got off the couch, and strode over. "Hi," she said, extending a hand, "I'm-"

"Asami Sato," Mako said knowingly. He shook with her, and Korra might have been a bit jealous at his gawking if she thought he stood a chance. Though… she might not have thought she herself stood a chance either…

"And you're," Asami exaggeratedly leaned in to get a look at his name tag, "Officer Mako."

As Korra pulled out the ingredients for waffles she got a glimpse of something shiny on the counter. "Over here, Officer Mako," she said, holding up his badge.

"Nice to meet you," he told Asami, hurrying over to take the item from Korra. When he reached her he said quietly, "Dude, nice work."

Korra simultaneously clicked her tongue and winked at him in thanks. "You want waffles?"

"I can't," he answered, clipping the badge to his belt. "If I'm late Chief Beifong will kick my ass." He straightened his tie, adding, "Or put me on desk duty, which is worse." He paced toward the door of the apartment, turning to walk backward and wave at everyone. "See you guys."

Once he was gone both Bolin and Asami strode toward the kitchen. Bolin pulled out a stool at the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room, on the opposite side of it as Korra, and sat down. Asami continued in, posting herself at Korra's side.

"So," Asami said to Bolin for conversation, "Korra said you went to a mover premiere last night."

"It was for the new Nuktuk mover coming out soon," Bolin said happily. "This one is going to be awesome!" But then his eyes fell on Asami, and Korra could see the recollection on his face that Asami hadn't seen any of the movers. "I'll get you a ticket!" he suggested. "You and Korra can see it together."

"Sure," Asami agreed with a smile. "Thanks."

Out of the corner of her eye as she cooked, Korra saw a blur of red fur go by her feet. It was something she was used to, and so when Pabu rounded the corner to run to Bolin she probably wouldn't have even thought about it. But it startled Asami so bad she shrieked, jumping sideways to grab Korra's shoulder.

Korra tried not to laugh, but she couldn't help the amused smile on her face. "It's okay," she chuckled. "It's just Pabu."

Bolin reached down to pick up the ferret, setting him on the counter. "He's friendly."

Asami laughed at herself, her cheeks tinting a subtle shade of pink. "Hey there," she said, extending a hand, and Pabu crossed the counter to her. "You scared me." Pabu chirped happily as she ran her hand over his head, and then scurried back across the counter to drape himself over Bolin's shoulder.

"What are you guys doing today?" Bolin asked.

Korra shrugged, but Asami answered readily, "I'm going to teach Korra to drive."

Korra knew they'd do that eventually, but the idea that it was actually going to happen today was both exciting and terrifying. For one thing, she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of Asami any more than she already had. For another, she didn't want to _crash and die_. At least they'd be doing it together…


	4. Chapter 4

_***Sorry that this took so long! But in celebration of the announcement about the Korra comics, I spent all day yesterday finishing this up :)._

 _Side note, every time I write a make out scene, the shipper in me is like 'just fuck already!' but then the writer in me is like 'here's a thought...pace yourself' and long story short next time the shipper in me might win out._

 _Huge shoutout to my beta, tumblr user bashinglei. I swear this would not be as great of quality without her._

 _This chapter is also hella long, enjoy!_

…..

Korra had been staring out the Satomobile's window for the last minute since Asami told her they were getting close, dying to get her first glimpse of the mansion. Asami hadn't said it was a mansion. In fact, she'd modestly tried to downplay the size of the place she lived in. But Korra had asked little questions like how many servants there were, how many bedrooms, is there a pool, what's the backyard like, and the garage, and how big is the ice box. Plus, they'd been driving down a one-lane road for the last couple minutes, and they were pretty far outside the city.

Then the trees that lined either side of the narrow road ended, and Korra finally caught sight of it. It _was_ a mansion. A massively huge mansion. Though, it was more of an estate, really, seeing as there was tons of useful land all around it, and even from here Korra could see the curves of the long racetrack behind the house. Her jaw was hanging open as Asami drove past the front of the house, along the side to where they pulled into a garage that sat underneath it. By the time Asami parked, she was still gawking so badly she didn't even undo her seatbelt.

Even the garage was beautiful. Everything was shiny and new, and though Korra knew Asami worked on cars, there didn't seem to be a speck of dirt or engine grease on anything. She continued gazing in awe through the Satomobile's windows while Asami strode around the vehicle, opening Korra's door and folding her arms over the top of it.

"I promise this isn't the most interesting part of the house," she said teasingly.

Korra let out a nervous laugh, undid her seatbelt, and climbed out. "You _live_ here," she muttered in shock. She'd never even seen a place this big.

"Yeah, it gets a little lonely though." Asami shrugged nonchalantly. "I thought about renting an apartment in the city and staying there most of the time, but I like the drive from here." Korra couldn't stop staring, and after a few moments Asami laughed and held out her hand. "Come on, I'll give you a tour."

Korra took Asami's hand and followed her to the elevator, which brought them up one floor to the grand entrance of the house. There was a curved stairway on either side leading up to the second floor, but instead of going up again, Asami led the way deeper into the house. She showed Korra the kitchen, the dining room, the bathrooms, and various other rooms, all of which had Korra gaping. But when they finally reached the pool, she literally gasped.

"This," she started in astonishment, "is amazing."

Asami gave a grateful smile. "We can go swimming later if you want."

Korra nodded eagerly, but her gaze wandered past the pool to one of the two gyms adjacent to it. "What. Is. That?" she asked, her eyes going wide.

"The gym," Asami said, casually motioning for Korra to follow her to it.

"No, no." Korra trailed her to the opening of the gym and stopped, pointing deliberately. " _That_ is a sparring mat."

"Oh, yeah," Asami chuckled, passing Korra a curious look for her amount of interest. All Korra could do was let out an admiring squeak. "You spar?"

"I spar," Korra confirmed. "Do _you_ spar?"

Asami strode over to the two pairs of boxing gloves hanging on the wall, giving one of them a relaxed swat. "I dominate."

Nope. Korra gulped. No way Asami was _that_ perfect, she couldn't be. She couldn't be gorgeous, successful, funny, crazy smart, super nice, an amazing kisser, _and_ a good fighter. Korra's heart just couldn't take it. God, she was _so_ screwed.

"Can…" Korra faltered, so unbelievably and unwittingly excited by the idea she could hardly get the question out. "Can _we_ spar?"

"Sure," Asami said with a grin. She walked back over and slipped her arms around Korra's neck, saying playfully, "But only if you aren't a sore loser, because I sparred with a boyfriend once and that's how we became exes."

Korra laughed, feeling her cheeks flush at the combination of excitement and Asami's proximity and how downright hot it was that Asami could fight. "I _am_ a bit of a sore loser," she admitted, saying with a lightheartedly challenging tone, "But if you manage to beat me, that would be the furthest thing from a turn off I could possibly imagine."

"You sound pretty confident," Asami mused. Korra buoyed her eyebrows boldly. "Care to wager? Winner names the terms."

And there was such a flirtatious glimmer in Asami's eyes that Korra wished she was courageous enough to say something as equally flirtatious. Like 'I am _so_ attracted to you right now,' or 'please, just dominate me this very second.' What ended up coming out of her mouth instead was a competitive, "You're in trouble, Sato."

"We'll see," Asami smirked, pecked Korra once on the lips, and pulled away. "Come on, let me show you the second floor."

They headed back to the grand entrance and then up a set of stairs to the second floor. Asami showed Korra first to the library, where Korra took in the expanse of books that reached to the ceiling, and then to what used to be her father's office. Asami had only opened the door to show Korra inside, but Korra caught a glimpse out the window behind the desk and motioned excitedly.

"Can I look?" she asked, not wanting to burst into the office if Asami wasn't comfortable with people being in here. Her dad _was_ in prison, and this was _his_ office. But Asami nodded, and so Korra hurried over to get an overhead view of the racetrack behind the house. "Is that where you're going to teach me to drive?"

Asami came over and leaned against the windowsill at Korra's side, nodding. "Yep. If you get good enough, you can race me."

"You dominate at that too?" Korra asked playfully, and Asami copied Korra's confident eyebrow raise from earlier. "Care to wager?"

Asami laughed, bottom lip tugging in a wince, "I'd hate to beat you at two things in a row."

Korra snorted her disbelief. "You _really_ think you're going to beat me at sparring?"

She smiled, saying like it was the most natural thing in the world, "I'll destroy you."

"Asami…" Korra said with feigned seriousness, and she raised both arms to put her hands behind her head, pretending to stretch but really using the opportunity to flex her biceps. It was a good thing she'd worn a muscle tank today.

She didn't even need to say anything else either, because Asami asked instantly, "Are you seriously trying to intimidate me?"

"Is it working?" Korra didn't really need to ask though; she could see that it was. Asami's bright green eyes kept moving back and forth between her arms. It wasn't the fear kind of intimidated so much as it was the kind where Asami got a little flustered, but that worked just as well.

"Kind of," Asami admitted, the hint of a smirk at one corner of her lips. "But…"

Next thing Korra knew Asami had stepped forward, but she didn't just put herself closer. She kept coming, easing Korra back until her shoulders met the bookshelf beside the window, and when Korra started dropping her arms Asami reached up, taking a gentle hold of her wrists and holding them above her head. And it didn't matter how slow or gentle Asami did it, Korra's stomach lurched at the feel of Asami's body pushed right up against the front of her, breasts and hips pressing into hers so tight there wasn't a hair's width of space between them. The only half-coherent thought Korra had was _holy_ _shit_ , because all the times they'd made out Asami had never pulled something so assertive. She was all talk. All flirting and asking nicely when she wanted to make out. But now those full red lips were so suddenly close to Korra's that she could practically feel them as she released a stunted breath.

Asami had clearly been about to say something witty, but Korra got the feeling she wasn't entirely prepared for the closing of distance either. For a long second they just stared at each other, until Korra managed to murmur, "But what?"

"But," Asami whispered in recollection, dropping her head forward to say breathily against Korra's neck. "Two can play the intimidation game."

She pressed the softest, lightest peck to Korra's pulse point, but _for_ _fuck's sake_ Asami had never kissed her anywhere except her face, and her eyes drifted shut against the delicate warmth of it. It only lasted a moment, and it wasn't enough. She wanted the real thing. Wanted to feel the heat of Asami's mouth open against her skin, wanted to know the intensity of that smooth tongue soothing out a fresh and tender bruise. That desire must have shown in her eyes, because when Asami pulled back just enough to look at her, there was another smirk at the corner of her tinted lips.

Korra couldn't help it, she tilted her head forward to try and steal a kiss. And Asami let her get close, _so close_ , but pulled away so gradually that Korra didn't even realize it until she was straining forward, hands still pinned above her head to keep her just out of reach. At seeing how the smirk on Asami's face had grown, Korra felt her cheeks tint with a blush. This was so not cool, but also so, so hot. Asami was a _tease_ , and a successful enough one that the weak feeling in Korra's knees and the itch of need between her hips made her want to surrender. It made her want to say she'd let Asami win both bets if it meant hands and kissing and tongue _now_.

She swallowed down the desperate lump in her throat in order to say, "You're a little bit evil."

Asami hummed with disagreement. "I'm competitive." And with that, she pressed a chaste kiss to Korra's cheek and released her hands, turning to head for the door. "Last stop's the bedroom," she called over her shoulder, "then the race track."

"Bedroom?" Korra whispered to herself, letting her head fall back against the bookshelf to take a deep, relaxing breath before peeling herself from it.

She left the office to follow Asami down a long hall, telling herself repeatedly along the way not to stare at Asami's butt in that skirt. Or her hips. Or the sway in her walk. Or the perfect shape of her waist in that fancy business shirt. _Just don't look at her at all._ But it was so much easier said than done, and when Asami glanced back to make sure Korra was still following, she caught the staring and smiled. Thankfully for Korra's sanity, she didn't try and make it worse. She held out her hand, which Korra happily took and held until they reached Asami's bedroom.

It was just as large as Korra would've imagined in comparison to the rest of the house, but it wasn't quite as extravagant. A massive bed against the rear wall split the room into two halves. On one side was a large vanity with all kinds of products on it, on the other was a desk, littered with blueprints and concept designs. There was a walk-in closet against the same wall as the desk, and the entrance to a bathroom near the vanity.

The first thing that really caught Korra's attention, however, was the unmade bed. The bed and the desk were the only things out of order in the entire room, but Korra liked that not everything was perfect. Liked that Asami didn't care enough to have the servants do it or even to do it herself. That, and the shimmer of the dark red sheets, made her smile.

"I honestly don't know what to make," Korra began, strolling over to the bed, "of the fact that you have _red_ _silk_ sheets." Then she touched them, and it felt so good and cool against her fingertips that she couldn't help but fall face first to the mattress. "But oh my god, it's all _so soft_."

She heard Asami chuckle, light footsteps crossing the room until the opposite side of the bed dipped in. Korra rolled over onto her back, making a sheet angel in the silk fabric.

"So nice," she groaned, letting out a blissful sigh. But then she realized exactly what she was doing, and sat up while her cheeks colored darkly. "Am I totally invading your privacy or what?" she asked with an embarrassed laugh.

"It's okay," Asami giggled from the other side. "I really don't mind you in my bed."

Korra might've stuttered at the implications of that, but she was too distracted to let it faze her. "I might say the same," she said teasingly, "if you didn't have so many pillows on here." She pointed to each one, counting under her breath. "Three… four… five… six… six pillows. You have _six_ pillows?" And they weren't two normal pillows and a few throws. They were _all_ full-sized. "There's hardly any room for me on your bed," Korra laughed.

Asami shrugged, a light blush tinting her cheeks. "Can't always find a cuddle buddy."

Korra's eyes narrowed playfully, feigning anger at the thought of Asami cuddling with anything that wasn't her. "Which pillow do you cuddle with?" In reply, Asami shrugged again, so Korra picked a random one and chucked it across the room, saying in response to Asami's inquisitive eyebrow raise, "That one was looking at me funny."

"Jealous," Asami muttered teasingly. Then she asked curiously, "How many pillows do _you_ sleep with?"

"Just one," Korra answered, briefly getting off the bed to retrieve the pillow she'd thrown. "I'd probably sleep with more, but I can't seem to acclimate to the heat here, so I get too hot with more."

"And here I thought you always wore tank tops to impress me," Asami teased.

"Duh, that too," Korra agreed, exaggeratedly flexing as she reached down for the pillow, enjoying the entertained look on Asami's face.

Asami's green eyes followed her as she sat back down, and after a moment her head tilted. "You've never told me where you're from."

"Southern Water Tribe," Korra said.

Apparently that was hardly a satisfying enough answer, because Asami nodded encouragingly. "And that's where your parents live with Naga?"

Korra nodded. The few weeks they'd been seeing each other, they hadn't talked much about Korra's family or where she was from. It wasn't because she didn't have a good relationship with her parents; Korra had an amazing relationship with her parents. However, one of the agreements she'd made with her dad when she left for Republic City was that she'd keep a low profile. Being the chief's daughter came with its risks. But this was _Asami_ she was talking to, and if anyone could understand risks that came with a high profile, it was her.

"Yeah," Korra began to answer, "My dad… he's um… he's sort of the chief." She watched Asami's eyes widen, instantly feeling self-conscious at the level of shock. "Chief Tonraq of the Southern Water Tribe," she laughed nervously.

Asami took in a short breath like she was going to say something, only to hold it for a moment. When she took in another, she finally managed to say, "Seriously?"

Korra gave a bashfully toothy grin, picking at the silk sheets beneath her as she said awkwardly, "Surprise."

"Wow," Asami laughed to herself, then passed a playfully accusatory glare at Korra. "You act like it's such a huge thing that I own Future Industries, and you're practically royalty."

"Let's not get carried away," Korra snorted amusedly. "I'm still a humble barista."

"Yeah," Asami murmured in remembrance. "You know," she added, grabbing a pillow and gently smacking it into Korra's chest, "I'm kind of offended I didn't know who my girlfriend really was."

"In my defense," Korra said teasingly, throwing the pillow back across at her, "You've only been my girlfriend since this morning."

"Fair enough," Asami chuckled. "So, why do you work at a coffee shop?"

The other reason Korra hadn't said anything was because she really liked Asami, and Asami had enough stress in her life without worrying about the kinds of dangers Korra might have to deal with if word got out. The last thing she wanted was for Asami to decide she wasn't worth it. "My dad agreed to let me come to Republic City if I keep a low profile," Korra said, to which Asami's brow furrowed with interest. "I guess someone tried to kidnap me when I was a kid, and he's worried they might try it again. I don't know."

"Wait, what?" Asami blurted in shock. "Someone tried to kidnap you? Do you remember it?"

"No, not really," she answered, but she didn't want this to be a serious conversation because she didn't want to scare Asami away. So she said teasingly, "I guess I shouldn't have a girlfriend as famous as you if I'm trying to keep a low profile, but you're kind of irresistible."

Asami was clearly too concerned to flirt back. "Korra, are you in danger here?"

"I can handle anything anyone throws at me," she said, shaking her head. "You'll find out when we spar and I kick your ass."

Asami seemed to take the hint that she didn't want this to be a huge issue, and graciously moved the conversation forward. "So, why'd you come to Republic City?"

"Well," Korra breathed, falling onto her back and folding her hands behind her head. "To pursue my dream of making a difference in the world."

Asami glanced down at her with a sarcastic smile, "I guess caffeine does make the world a better place."

Korra snickered and rolled her eyes, but Asami was watching her with sincere interest, waiting for her to elaborate. "I wasn't sure exactly how I wanted to do that when I came here…" Korra explained timidly, and paused for a minute to think about what she wanted to say. "Okay, you know how you go to the park, and there's turtle ducks in the pond?" Asami nodded. "They're everywhere, because ponds are their habitat, but have you ever seen a fox antelope?"

"I don't know," Asami answered thoughtfully. "Maybe once."

"They're endangered," Korra said, finding her enthusiasm the more she talked about it. "But I saw some, in the city, a mom and two babies. I was walking home from a night shift, and I was carrying some left over salad from dinner. I know you're not supposed to go near wild animals with babies, but I opened the salad container and they came right over. Ate out of my hand." Korra held her hand out palm up, demonstrating excitedly. "They don't belong in the city, but they can't really avoid it, you know?" Her excitement faded, and she sighed as she said, "But the mom got hit by a Satomobile. I saw her the next morning."

Asami's forehead creased with brief apology, but she appeared to be so intently concentrating on what Korra was saying that she was staring.

"Anyway," Korra continued, "I pretty much nagged President Raiko until he agreed to meet with me, and then again until he agreed to fund an animal habitat integration project. So I'm going to oversee the-"

"The redesign of Republic City's infrastructure," Asami finished knowingly, rising from the bed in awe. "Holy crap." Korra sat up and shifted on the mattress to watch her pace a couple strides away, but she immediately turned around and hurried back. She climbed back on the bed, scooting across it to where Korra was with a massive grin on her face. "I got a packet on my desk yesterday for a major project proposal. For habitat integration."

At what Korra thought Asami was saying, she couldn't keep her own lips from curling with excitement. President Raiko had chosen _Future Industries_ as the architects to redesign aspects of the city.

"Korra," Asami said eagerly, "Do you have any idea what this means?"

"We're going to be business partners," Korra suggested, unsure of exactly why Asami looked like she was about to freak out. It was a big opportunity, Korra knew, but it wasn't like Asami had never gotten a proposal before.

"A conservation project of this scale could improve the public's opinion of Future Industries more than I can imagine." Asami huffed with amazed laughter, taking Korra's face in her hands. "Korra," she paused to press an overjoyed peck to Korra's lips, "You just gave me what I needed to save my company."

Korra let out a short laugh, flushing as Asami began to press excited kisses all over her face. And because she'd done it completely on accident, she chuckled unsurely, "You're welcome?"

But Asami wouldn't stop kissing her enthusiastically and muttering her thanks in between pecks. Korra thought to mention that it wasn't necessarily her who'd picked Future Industries, it was Raiko, but she far from minded how Asami had taken to rewarding her for it. Besides, she couldn't stop giggling at the way the kisses felt. They tickled, landing repeatedly against her cheeks and forehead and nose. It made her _so_ giddy. As in first-kiss giddy, as in need to twitch and wiggle giddy, but after just a couple seconds her own lips and hands were itching with impulses.

"Asami," Korra prompted through a laugh. When it failed to get her attention, Korra put her hands on Asami's waist and laughed again, "Hello!"

Asami stopped and pulled back, unable to contain her purely ecstatic grin even though her cheeks tinted with embarrassment. She was trying so hard to keep her smile under control that she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, and Korra had meant to stop the nonsense before she got so giddy that she embarrassed herself, but now she didn't want it to stop. Because Asami's eyes were glittering with joy and her cheeks were rosy, and Korra absolutely couldn't ignore how she was biting her bottom lip and the way her smile looked behind it.

Korra pointed to her own mouth. "My lips are right here."

"Your lips?" Asami asked, a teasing glimmer reaching her eyes a mere moment before she lunged forward. She tackled Korra to the bed, threw a leg over to straddle Korra's hips, and resumed the planting of kisses all over Korra's face with even more fervor than she'd had before.

"Asami!" Korra shrieked through a laugh, dodging and trying to catch Asami's mouth with her own. After only a few seconds, she could hardly see where she was trying to kiss because her eyes were squinted and watering with how hard she was laughing, and while she wanted a real kiss, she also didn't want this to end. Asami was always playful, but never had she been this unrestrained about it. Korra _loved_ it.

"Your lips?" Asami repeated, planting another series of rapid pecks along Korra's bulging cheeks.

"Yes!" Korra cackled, and when she tried to reach up to grab Asami's face and take what she wanted, Asami took a hold of her wrists, pinning them above her head like she had in the office.

The next collection went along Korra's jaw, teasingly close to her mouth as Asami asked through a giggle, "You want me to kiss your lips?"

Korra couldn't stop squirming, and despite the intense laughter, she managed to eke, "Please!"

Asami's lips met hers instantly. The grip on Korra's wrists had never been tight, so, the moment it happened, Korra slipped out of it and reached for Asami's face, because she half expected Asami to tease and plant one swift peck before returning to everywhere but her lips, and she wanted to keep Asami right where she was. Only, it seemed Asami hadn't been planning on pulling away, because the moment Korra cupped her face there was an immediate shift in the energy between them. It was like Korra's touch was permission for those full red lips to keep moving gently against hers and lengthen the kiss, to let it linger, and it made her so suddenly, painfully aware of the position they were in.

It made her aware of the way Asami was bent over her, a hand on either side of her head and that gorgeous black hair falling off to one side. It made her aware of the small inch of space that hovered between their bodies, and that kept Asami's chest and stomach from spreading warmth to her core. More than anything, it made her aware of the way Asami's legs felt over her hips. How her tight pencil skirt was bunched high up her thighs and the only thing hindering Korra's hands from meeting her creamy skin was the thin leggings.

And Korra had always exercised restraint. She never kissed on the first date, never trusted or gave too much too fast, and _never_ considered sex before she truly and intimately knew who she was with. But Asami did things to her. Stirred feelings and needs and desires that burned in her chest and clouded her mind. It was easy to ignore in the alley behind the coffee shop, it was easy to resist when Asami had yet to be even slightly insistent, but now… Now that they were in Asami's bed and pretty much alone and Asami was straddling her… she wanted more. It didn't have to be everything, it didn't have to go all the way, but the flooding need for something more hit her like a wave.

One hand left Asami's face to set low on her back, and Korra was grateful for the expanse of bed beside them so it wouldn't be a repeat of that morning. She rolled, flipping them over with such finesse it didn't even break the kiss. But once she was one top, hips still between Asami's legs and the entire weight of her pressing down, she felt Asami's hands set on her waist with a gentle pressure. This was so new that Korra feared it was a request to stop, and so she pulled away from the kiss enough to look Asami in the eyes, to give her the chance to say something while Korra lifted her body a small inch, holding herself up with both hands.

Only, in that short moment Asami didn't say anything. Not 'no' or 'yes' or 'slow down,' and she hadn't been pushing against Korra's waist in rejection. Now that there was enough space between them, she slipped the tips of her fingers beneath Korra's shirt, green eyes watching closely for protest. But Korra wouldn't protest, and Asami's hand got bolder when none came, caressing up her abs and making the muscles of her core constrict beneath that warm palm because it tickled in the best way. It felt so damn good to finally have Asami's hand under her clothing, and exploring the skin that she hadn't gotten a real chance to that morning, that Korra's breath hitched with every tensing of muscle. At the same time, Asami's other hand lifted to Korra's cheek, guiding her back down to continue the kiss. And she threw herself into it with as much restraint as she possibly could. She met Asami's mouth eagerly, parted her lips so it was deep and open and so she could feel against her tongue that Asami's breathing was already as stunted as hers.

Since meeting skin, the hand against her stomach had yet to drop below her naval, but now Asami's delicate fingers traced the line of Korra's hip down, then inward along that sensitive expanse flesh. It was such a bare graze, but it fired off nerve-endings at complete opposite ends of Korra's body, and her hips involuntarily ground forward to seek pressure, begging that touch for more weight. It pushed her hips hard between Asami's legs, and though it hadn't been deliberate, she felt Asami's fingers clutch at her stomach with reception. In the same moment, Asami's knee bent upward, cradling the curve of Korra's hip so they fit snug together.

So Korra ground forward again, savoring the gift of a hot breath against her lips because this was the more that she wanted. It was nowhere near explicit. Just kissing and some hands, and Asami hadn't even ventured to touch her breasts or to get a hand down her pants, but it was driving her _wild_. _Asami_ was driving her wild. The way she smelled, the way she tasted, the way she touched and how she met each push of Korra's hips with a pulse of her own. And Korra wanted to use _her_ hands.

She needed one to hold herself up, but the other fell to the knee Asami had over her hip, tracing the length of her thigh as high as that bunched up skirt would let her. Asami's calf wrapped around the back of Korra's thigh to encourage it, and for the first time she left Korra' lips. She kissed along Korra's jaw, planting one soft peck on her journey downward before opening her mouth against Korra's neck. And _fuck_ , it was more amazing than Korra thought it would be. Asami didn't even need to be rough, she didn't need to bite down or suck hard, because the heat of it was _searing_. It was enough for her that the fire of Asami's lips pooled in her cheeks and chest and between her legs. It was enough that after Asami's mouth closed against her throat, the tip of her tongue was the first thing she felt when it opened again.

The grip Korra had on Asami's thigh clenched with pleasure as she sighed breathily, "God, _yes_ ," and the moment the words left her mouth her cheeks flared, because she hadn't meant to say it out loud.

But in response to it Asami's hand left her abs and slipped around to her back, settling just above the waistline of her jeans and drawing Korra harder against her. In combination with the pull of the lips at her neck, it nearly sent Korra into a frenzy. All at once what had been enough and what'd been satisfyingly more wasn't enough anymore. Asami's hands weren't brave enough, her lips not pressing enough, their hips not close enough. Korra's hand inched high up the outside of Asami's thigh, aiming for where her shirt was tucked into her skirt so Korra could get her hand underneath it. So she could explore the parts of Asami that Asami had of her. Only, just as she started upward, there was an aggressive chiming and vibrating against their hips that startled them both. It scared Korra's hand away from its destination and it scared Asami's lips away from her neck.

It was Asami's cell phone, ringing in the pocket of her skirt. She winced apologetically and reached down to retrieve it, but her skirt was so bunched that she couldn't get to the pocket. Korra fell sideways off of her to lie on the bed, holding back a sigh of disappointment because Asami had practically promised no business today. Asami straightened her skirt back down her thighs so she could get into the pocket, and she pulled out the phone to look at the caller id. Where Korra expected her to answer, however, Asami pressed decline. Then she held down the power button until the screen turned off and tossed the device onto the nightstand beside the bed.

Korra was caught between a happy smile and guilty wince. "Was that important?" she asked, because as much as she wanted Asami all to herself today, what was a five minute call compared to all the hours they had left together?

"Yeah," Asami answered, turning over to half lie on top of Korra. "But not as important as you." She pressed a reassuring peck to Korra's cheek, and slipped her hand beneath Korra's shirt just to rest it against her stomach. It didn't matter that they weren't making out anymore, just the fact that Asami was comfortable enough now to do that so casually would be the bane of Korra's existence. She loved it too much. "I said we'd spend the day together."

 _Now_ Korra was grinning, massively, and she tried to ignore the allure of the hand on her abs as she lifted her head just enough to give Asami a short, grateful kiss. The moment was completely gone, and now that she'd had a few seconds to regain her bearings she realized that, even though she was still almost overwhelmingly worked up, it was probably for the best. They'd been moving _fast_ , not just today either, and in spite of how irresistible Asami was, Korra liked her way too much not to worry about messing it up by rushing. Because truth of the matter was that she was falling hard. _So_ hard.

So she tried to be composed and keep her mind off wanting to start things all over again. "Can I ask you something?" she asked, and when Asami nodded, she finished playfully, "Did you bring me in here just to make out with me?"

To Korra's amusement, Asami's cheeks shaded, but she shook her head. "Part of the tour," she laughed. "And I need to change out of these business clothes. You ready to drive?"

Korra nodded. Asami slipped off the bed to put on more comfortable clothes, and as Korra watched her retreat to the closet, she was torn between relief and longing at the fresh absence of Asami's hand. It took Asami half a minute to pick something out, and then she strode across to the other side of the room to the bathroom. Korra had been watching her the whole time, and when Asami reached the bathroom she glanced back over her shoulder, lips curling with an entertained smile at the fact that Korra couldn't stop staring at her.

The moment Asami disappeared behind the door, Korra let out a heavy sigh. She'd swear she could still feel the heat of Asami's palm against her stomach. It was so vivid a feeling that she actually reached down to lift the bottom of her tank top, checking for some physical sign of the electricity thrumming beneath her flesh. There was nothing. It was all in her head, and she raised her hands to her face, desperately rubbing to try and ease some of her excitement. _Get a grip, Korra_. It wasn't like she'd never done this before, like she'd never gone through the physical stages of relationship. But with Asami everything felt… new. It was infinitely more powerful and exciting and intoxicating. Infinitely more tempting.

"What are you doing to me?" Korra whispered to herself, only to pull her hands away and find that they were spotted with red from her face. "Leaving lipstick all over my face, apparently," she chuckled.

She got off the bed and strode over to the vanity, taking a tissue from the box and looking in the mirror to wipe off all of Asami's lipstick. The task was nearly complete when Asami came out of the bathroom in the first pair of actual, normal clothes Korra had ever seen. She had faded black jeans and a white t-shirt and her hair was pulled up, and she strode over to the closet again to pull out a comfortable looking pair of boots, then sat down at the desk to put them on. All Korra could think was that she was gorgeous and sexy and cute no matter what she was wearing, and they had to get out of this bedroom _now_.

Thank god it didn't take Asami long to put her boots on, and as she stood, she asked happily, "To the race track?"

"Yes!" Korra blurted, hurrying to the door and waiting for Asami at the threshold.

"A little excited," Asami pointed out, pacing over to lead the way out.

 _Not the way you're thinking,_ Korra thought as she followed through the hall and down the stairs. Instead of heading straight from the bottom of the stairs to the front door of the house, they wrapped around and headed toward the back. Their path took them past the pool and gyms, out to the rear where the racetrack was set behind the home. Asami led Korra right up to the shoulder high fence that surrounded the track, and Korra set her elbows up on it to gaze in wonder. It looked so much bigger this close up than it did from inside the house; she couldn't even see some of the distant curves from here. After a few moments of looking, it started to make her nervous. She wasn't a good driver, at all, and she was about to embarrass herself in front of Asami and she'd even made a bet on it. _What_ was she _thinking_? This was going to be a disaster.

She was so intently focusing on how bad this was that she didn't even notice Asami had walked away. Not until a car pulled out of a garage nearby and onto the track, stopping on the other side of the fence as Korra. Asami hopped out of the driver's seat as Korra made her way onto the track.

"You know the basics?" Asami asked, tossing the keys to Korra.

She nodded. "But I did warn you I'm not very good at this, right?"

"Really?" Asami asked sarcastically. "Because you sounded pretty confident when we wagered on it earlier." All Korra did was grimace as she got into the driver's seat and pulled on her seatbelt. "You'll do great," Asami said encouragingly, sliding into the passenger side. "Besides, driving is relaxing. We'll take it easy."

"If you say so," Korra muttered nervously, sticking the key into the ignition.

She started the engine and then glanced over at Asami, who only nodded and smiled as if to say 'whenever you're ready.' So she put each foot on a pedal and pressed her right one to the gas, and too hard, apparently, for this sensitive sports car, because her head jerked back as the car lurched forward. She eased off a bit, but this was already going poorly, because as she eased off she also pressed the brake with her left foot, and the car screeched to a halt. A slightly embarrassed heat rose in her cheeks, but she was determined to get the hang of this no matter what, and pressed down on the gas again.

They started forward, but Korra was so unconfident behind the wheel that every time they took off faster than she expected, she immediately pressed down on the brake with her left foot. It was instinctual, and she couldn't help it, so they went through a series of jagged lurches and stops as Asami grasped desperately for the grip handle on the door.

"Clutch," Asami said tensely as they slammed to another stop. And another. "Clutch!" And another. "Clutch!" They pitched to a final stop, and this time Korra kept her foot off the gas so they wouldn't go anywhere. "That's the brake," Asami said weakly, easing off her grip on the door. "Let's try again." Korra glanced over at her with an unsurely raised eyebrow, at which Asami giggled. "You'll get it, don't worry." She pointed down toward Korra's feet, "That left pedal is the clutch, put your left foot on it." Then she reached over to take Korra's right hand, guiding it to the gear shifter and gently setting it down. "Shift with this. Press on the gas gradually."

"What if I break your nice racecar?" she asked skeptically.

"There's more," Asami chuckled. "Come on, you got this."

Korra nodded, taking a deep breath to calm the tense bundle of nerves in her stomach. She moved her left foot over to the clutch and put her right back on the gas, finding that it actually took very little pressure to get them started forward. Once the amount of pressure she was applying stopped increasing the speed, she pressed down just a fraction harder, pleased when they went faster without being jolted in their seats. She repeated those steps for a minute, making sure to turn the wheel as they began rounding a corner.

"Good," Asami praised, leaning over enough to see the gauges in the dashboard. "Shift now."

Korra followed the instruction, pressing down on the clutch and moving the gear shifter and… She let out an excited laugh when the gear changed and the car picked up speed. "I did it!" she exclaimed, laughing again.

Asami grinned at her proudly. "I knew you could."

Korra couldn't stop smiling as she drove the car around the first bend. For the first couple minutes after that she focused on the speed and the gear and the wheel, making sure she had the movements down before trying to engage in conversation. When she felt confident enough she asked, "Who taught you how to drive?"

Asami had relaxed since Korra had been getting better at this, and now she was sunk comfortably in her seat, an elbow hanging over the rolled down window. In spite of the relaxed nature of her position, there was a tenor of disappointment in her voice as she answered, "My dad."

Korra glanced over at her, taking in the suddenly distant look in her eyes. "Do you miss him?"

There was a lengthy pause before Asami said, "Sometimes." She reached up to push a loose strand of hair behind her ear, giving a light shrug. "I don't know… every time I think about the good things, it's tainted by what he did. I haven't been able to forgive him yet."

"I mean," Korra began cautiously, "Insider trading isn't the worst thing he could've done, right?"

She expected Asami to agree, or at least to recognize that Korra was trying to make her feel better. Instead, she stated flatly, "It wasn't." Korra's eyebrows furrowed with surprise, but she didn't need to ask what Asami meant, because Asami said, "He wasn't just insider trading, and he didn't just get caught." She took in a deep breath, letting it out in a heavy sigh. "I haven't been completely honest with you."

Korra looked over at her again, asking worriedly, "What happened?"

It took an entire tense minute before Asami finally began to answer. "It was when I first got the idea for the Sato Racer, and I was really excited about it, so I wanted to figure out all the concept designs and financials before taking the idea to my dad." She paused, and Korra nodded for her to continue. "So I went into his office to go through the books, and inside the front cover I found all the information about his insider trading. But then I actually went through the books… He was stealing from investors."

"Did he get caught for that too?" Korra asked with a remorseful amount of curiosity.

Asami shook her head, paused for a moment, and then buried her face in her hand. "I confronted him, and you know what he said to me? He said I should help him. Said I was smart and charming and could come up with ideas to make people want to invest." She paused to take in a shaken breath, and in the brief moment Korra glanced over she saw tears pooling at the edges of Asami's eyes. "If the public found out that he was stealing from investors, no one would ever invest in Future Industries again, no matter who owned it. I turned him in, Korra. _Me_. His own daughter. But I didn't have the guts to watch Future Industries fail, so I only turned him in for insider trading."

Korra was so thrown by that information, by everything Asami had been dealing with and that she'd had no idea about, that she muttered in shock, "Shit, Asami."

"I know," she whimpered, wiping the back of her hand across her cheek as the first tear fell. "I feel _so_ guilty. I should've told the police everything. I should find a way to make it right. Those investors lost so much money they don't even know about. I should pay them back but I don't have the funds. Future Industries will go under if I do and I don't know how to make it right." She took in a broken breath as more tears spilled down her cheeks. "I don't know how."

"Hey," Korra said soothingly, pressing on the brakes and putting the car in park. She took off her seatbelt and scooted across the front seats, wrapping an arm around Asami's shoulders and pulling her close. "Hey, it's going to be okay."

"I'm a horrible person," Asami cried, sniffling through the tears.

"You're definitely _not_ a horrible person," Korra said seriously. She reached up to stroke her thumb across Asami's cheek. "You didn't steal anything, and if you're ever going to pay those investors back for what your dad stole, then you need Future Industries to do it." She turned on the seat to face Asami, pulling her into a hug. "If you turned him in for it and Future Industries went under, everyone would lose."

Asami shook her head against Korra's shoulder, saying shamefully, "I messed up. I messed up so bad."

"Asami," Korra said softly, leaning back to take Asami's face in her hands. "You turned in your own dad. I don't know anyone else who could've done that." She used her thumb to gently wipe away a new stream of tears. "Maybe you _kind of_ messed up, but you'll make it right. I'll help you find a way if I have to. Maybe the conservation project will be as successful as you hope."

"The conservation project?" Asami repeated, with something sounding like hope in her voice as she lifted away from Korra's shoulder. She took in a deep breath to compose herself, wiping away the last of her tears. "Yeah," she agreed quietly. "I'll make it right."

Korra nodded, sitting there quietly while her mind ran through other ideas. "What about your mom?" she asked curiously. "Can't she help you?"

Asami dropped her head back against the headrest, shutting her eyes tight and taking in a deep breath. She held that breath for a long span of seconds before sighing and finally meeting Korra's gaze. "My mom died when I was a kid."

"I'm so sorry," Korra blurted. Of all the damn moments for her to have brought that up… "God, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Asami said kindly, blinking away the moisture that it'd caused. "You should know this stuff."

Korra reached out to take hold of Asami's hand, carefully gauging her composure before asking tenderly, "What happened?"

Asami nodded back toward the house. "We got robbed and… you know. That's why I learned to fight. My dad wanted me to be able to protect myself." There wasn't much Korra could think to say, so instead of saying anything she pulled Asami into another hug. It lasted for a long minute before Asami pulled away with a dry chuckle. "We just can't seem to have a perfect date."

"No," Korra laughed in agreement, "But we're learning a lot about each other."

Asami smiled, leaning in to plant a grateful kiss on Korra's lips. "Come on," she said lightly, clearly eager to move past the heavy topic. "Take me around the track as fast as you can."

With a hard nod, Korra scooted back across to the driver's seat, put on her seatbelt, and glanced over to make sure Asami was ready. Then she slammed on the gas pedal, leaving skid marks behind them as the car shot forward. She pretty much had the entire driving thing down now, and even though her shifting around turns was jagged and surely she wasn't going as fast as Asami would've been, she was going faster than she ever had. And she was proud of it. Damn proud. By the time they finished going around the track and came to a screeching halt at the finish line, she was grinning. Asami was too, and the fact that she was proud made Korra infinitely happier.

As they both got out of the car, someone from the other side of the gate was clapping, and even though Korra had no idea who the middle aged man was, she beamed at him.

"You keep improving as fast as you learned," the man said as they both walked over to him, "Asami might have some competition."

Asami laughed at that. "Preston," she motioned from him to Korra, "This is my girlfriend Korra." Korra stuck her hand out to shake with him, unable to contain an even bigger grin at the fact that Asami had introduced her as her girlfriend. "Korra, this is Preston. He's the professional driver that Future Industries sponsors."

"So, who's the better driver?" Korra asked teasingly, glancing back and forth between Preston and Asami.

"I am," Asami confidently.

Preston blew a skeptical puff of air through his pursed lips. "In your dreams," he said, and then he looked at Korra. "When we race, chances are fifty-fifty. We're both the better drivers." Asami rolled her eyes. "Are you going to race her?"

"Um," Korra started haltingly. They _had_ made a bet, but if Asami could keep up with and even defeat a professional driver, then she didn't stand a chance. "I don't know anymore."

"Oh, come on," Asami chuckled, "Don't let Preston scare you."

"It's not him I'm scared of," Korra said playfully, but there was a flash of an idea at the back of her mind, and her face lit up instantly. "But what if he drives for me?"

"No way," Asami protested. "That's not how bets work."

"Oh, come on," Preston imitated. "Don't be scared."

"Yeah," Korra agreed with a teasing smirk. "He said it's fifty-fifty, and you said you're competitive. I'm no match for you and all three of us know it." Korra shrugged, saying with a smug amount of nonchalance, "I'm willing to bet on it, but if you don't think you're the better driver…"

Asami passed a mock scowl at both of them before throwing her hands up. "Fine. Preston can drive for you."

"Shake on it," Korra said, sticking her hand out.

Asami laughed, giving Korra's hand an amicable shake before telling her and Preston, "Go get your car."

Preston motioned for Korra to follow him, and she happily trailed him to the garage. When she'd been thinking about racing Asami herself, the thought wasn't very exhilarating because there was no way she could've won. Now that the chances were fairly even, however, her heart was already beating fast. This was going to be awesome.

She jumped into the back seat of Preston's slimmer, more aerodynamic-looking car and put on the helmet he tossed to her. After starting the engine, he drove it out to the starting point, lining up with Asami's vehicle. Asami was looking over at them, and Korra motioned with two fingers from her eyes to Asami's in an attempt to be intimidating. The only thing Asami did was laugh and blow a kiss.

Ready to start the race, Preston grabbed a small remote in the side of the door and pushed the button, which started the countdown on the lights above them. Red. The engines revved, sending earthshattering vibrations piercing straight through the seat and into Korra's racing heart. Red. The powerful roar in her ears made her grip the sides of the car and lean forward intensely, desperate for the thrill. Yellow. The smile on her face was growing, and when she briefly glanced over to see the fiercely focused way Asami was gripping the steering wheel, she couldn't help but grin. Green. The cars shot into motion, throwing Korra back against her seat as they picked up speed fast.

They were taking that first turn in a matter of seconds, already at such a speed that Korra felt like jelly in her seat, at the mercy of the car's velocity. As they rounded the bend, she looked over at Asami, who was right there with them, dead even. The turn straightened out, and Preston slammed into a higher gear with such determination the car lurched forward. The entire lightweight frame of the thing was shaking, invigorating the already electrified hum of Korra's blood.

Not even halfway to the next turn Asami's car shot ahead of them and veered inward, cutting them off. "Cheater!" Korra yelled at the top of her lungs, even though there was no possible way Asami could've heard her.

Preston swerved right to try and get around her that way, but Asami moved over. He swerved left, but she was there again, blocking him at every chance she had. But Preston wouldn't ease off. He'd sped up to try and get around, but now he was right there on Asami's tail, with what couldn't have been more than an inch or two between their bumpers. They neared the next turn, and from behind him Korra could see Preston lean forward in concentration. She didn't know what he was looking for or waiting for, but as they got to the turn, she figured it out. Asami took the turn wide, and the moment Preston realized it, he pushed into a higher gear and slammed on the gas pedal, shooting up the inside of the curve and coming out of the turn in front of Asami.

"Woohoo!" Korra screamed, throwing her arms up and quickly looking over her shoulder, catching the smile on Asami's lips. "Go! Go! Go!"

The wind was whipping by them so fast Korra had tears blowing from her eyes and sideways across her temples, but she wouldn't close them for the life of her. She wouldn't miss a second of this last turn in the race. They neared the bend, but instead of down shifting, Preston took it at full speed, and the back wheels slid out the slightest bit as they rounded the corner. It slowed them down just enough that while they straightened out Asami whizzed up next to them, taking her eyes off the road just long enough grin at Korra.

"Come on, Preston!" Korra hollered as loud as she could, seeing the finish line nearing in the distance.

They were neck and neck, and the deafening mixture of engines and wind and Korra's yelling filled the air. They were getting _so_ close, and Asami inched out ahead of them and Korra slapped her hand against the back of Preston's shoulder as if he couldn't see it for himself. She thought it was over. Thought for sure Asami had won. But then Preston shifted gears one last time, pressing the gas as far as he could and sending the engine into overdrive. It was just the burst they needed, and the very last second they shot ahead of Asami just in time to cross the finish line first.

Both cars skidded to a halt, and the moment it stopped Korra jumped out and pulled her helmet off. "YEAH!" she shouted, lunging into the air so excitedly she nearly lost her grip on the helmet and sent it flying. Then she turned to Preston, slapping her hand against his in a victorious high five.

"Congratulations," Asami chuckled, coming over to give Korra a congratulatory hug. "You get to name your prize."

Korra released Asami from the hug, mouth tensing unsurely. "I need to think about it more." She was so over joyed and so full of adrenaline she just couldn't contain herself. "Can we go spar now? I really need to beat you at two things in a row."

"I love how humble you are," Asami said sarcastically, but nodded. "Sure."

Korra tossed her helmet into the back seat of the car, sticking her hand out for Preston to shake. "Thanks for driving me."

"My pleasure," he said, shaking with her happily, and then waved at Asami. "I'll see you later."

Korra and Asami started back toward the house, Korra unable to contain her victorious giggling the whole time no matter how much Asami laughed and shook her head. As they reached the back door, Asami paused and glanced at the jeans Korra was wearing.

"You want to borrow some sweatpants?" she asked.

Korra agreed, because she couldn't spar in jeans and there was no way she was going to let Asami have the upper hand. Not when sparring was her area of expertise. So they hurried up to Asami's bedroom, both changing into more work out appropriate clothing, and then went back down to the gym. Korra took a pair of gloves and a helmet, putting it all on as she and Asami strode out onto the sparring mat.

"You ready?" Asami asked from behind her red helmet. Korra nodded from behind her blue one. "Alright, go."

Korra threw her gloves up, instantly bouncing on the balls of her feet, and Asami did the same. Under normal circumstances, she wasn't the type to hold back, and even though it was hardly ten seconds in, she'd have thrown a punch by now. If not to win at least to figure out her opponent's style. But now she hesitated, a hesitation that lasted long enough for Asami to drop her gloves.

"What's wrong?" Asami asked.

One side of Korra's mouth tensed down apologetically. "I don't want to hurt you…"

"Seriously?" Asami laughed, but when Korra gave a sincere nod, she trudged over. "I promise you're not going to hurt me. I _have_ done this before." Korra wasn't necessarily convinced, and it must've showed on her face. "Okay…"

Before Korra could even react, Asami had reached down and pulled up one of her legs, raising it up to her head and leaning into her chest. It knocked her off balance immediately, and as she fell backwards onto her back Asami followed. In the matter of a split second, Korra was on her back, her leg stretched up over Asami's shoulder while Asami leaned over her, using her body weight and the strain in Korra's leg to keep her pinned. And Asami was grinning, because this was a successful pin and there was no easy way to get out of it. _Nice one, Korra_.

"Still worried you're going to hurt me?" Asami asked smugly from above her.

Despite how much it had taken Korra off guard, the flawless execution of the move was… fuck, it was _sexy_. "Not so much."

With an entertained smirk, Asami let her up, and they resumed their starting positions. This time, when Asami said 'go,' Korra didn't hesitate to get right in it. She bounced forward, making a quick jab with her right hand to test Asami's reflexes, mildly pleased when Asami dodged it easily. She waited for Asami to test for herself, watching for movement or the cocking back of one of Asami's shoulders while she rocked on the balls of her feet. It never came.

Korra lost patience and threw a one-two, first left and then right. Asami dodged right and then ducked the second punch, and shit, she was fast. Korra had always been outstanding with raw power and big bursts of maneuvers, but when she punched, she punched hard. When she went in for the take down, she relied more on being accurate and unrelenting. That made her slower. But Asami was fast and watchful and patient. Her bright green eyes were constantly scanning, surveying every move and blink and breath that Korra made.

Asami was so focused that it almost caught Korra by surprise when she finally threw a punch. It was a swift jab with her right hand, just like Korra's first hit had been, but the moment Korra dodged it, Asami threw three more. Another right, then left, then right again, a jab, a swing, and then an uppercut toward Korra's midsection. Korra curved right, feeling the final punch skim her side. She grabbed Asami's arm to trap it there, swiftly bending down to wrap her other arm behind Asami's knee. Her intent had been to lift Asami's leg and put her on her back, but Asami used Korra's weight and bent over position against her. She swung her only leg behind Korra's as she threw her weight sideways, knocking Korra off balance and taking them both to ground.

They hit hard, and the impact knocked the grips they had on each other and Korra rolled away, springing to her feet at the same time Asami did. And she couldn't help it that she was smiling with amusement. That had been _close_. She could feel the decisiveness and the confidence in Asami's movements, and she had no doubt it would've been over if she hadn't rolled away. She had to finish this quickly or she'd lose.

She rocked forward, throwing a distracting swing with her left hand and then immediately ducking in to grab Asami. She put her shoulder to Asami's waist and wrapped an arm high up around her thigh, and she pushed. Asami plummeted to her back with Korra on top of her, but just as Korra tried to lean in and make the pin, Asami shifted their legs and grabbed Korra's free arm. In the blink of an eye they'd rolled onto their backs, Korra had lost her hold on Asami's leg, and then Asami was on top of her from the side, holding her shoulders to the ground. Another successful takedown, and that made Asami the victor.

"What was that about beating me at two things in a row?" Asami asked with a smirk, and she let Korra go and threw a leg over Korra's hips to sit on her.

"I got to admit," Korra chuckled, pausing for a breath because even that short minute had gotten her blood pumping. "You're kind of amazing."

Asami raised one eyebrow. "At sparring?"

"At everything," Korra said proudly, enjoying the flattered blush that tinted Asami's cheeks. "I know what I want as my prize." In response to that, Asami hummed curiously. "A rematch."

"Oh my god, seriously?" Asami asked in disbelief. "You can ask for anything you want," she said, repeating with an almost suggestive emphasis, " _Anything_ , and you want a rematch?"

"Yeah," Korra laughed.

"You _are_ a sore loser," she said teasingly. When all Korra did was give an exaggerated grin, Asami rolled her eyes, watched Korra for a considering second, and then shrugged. "Okay."

They both stood and resumed their positions, but now Korra had Asami figured out. She was fast and resourceful, and, most of all, patient. All that meant was that Korra had to be ruthless. On the balls of her feet she rushed in, determined to be the victor of this round. She threw a few testing punches, waiting for exactly what she wanted. It came when Asami finally threw a hit of her own. Korra dodged and slipped behind her, knocking her legs out from beneath her so both of them hit the ground.

Korra knew she only had a split moment before Asami figured some way to get out of this with that genius brain of hers, so she acted fast. She pushed over onto Asami's back and wrapped one arm over Asami's shoulder to under her armpit. Her leg followed, so she was straddling the back of Asami's tricep. Then she threw herself backward, flipping Asami over and pushing up with her hips so Korra had that arm held firm against her torso. She wouldn't have kept going with it because she knew that could cause injury, but the armbar lock Korra had Asami in was painful no matter how far she pushed it, and Asami tapped out instantly.

"That was good," Asami breathed, chuckling when Korra climbed into a victorious position sitting over her hips. "That was really good."

"Thanks," Korra said with a grin, reaching up to pull her helmet off. She threw it to the side, removing her gloves while Asami did the same with her gear. "I might have to cancel my trainer. I'll get better practice with you."

"I wouldn't mind." Asami set her hands on Korra's thighs, beaming up at her with flushed cheeks and a happy smile. "You're a fair match."

"Alright, winner," Korra began, slipping her fingers through Asami's. "What do you want for winning?"

Korra had hardly finished the question before Asami blurted, "Stay the night," as if she'd known all day what she wanted and if she didn't say it now she wouldn't have the courage. Korra's eyebrows ascended at the boldness of it, and the flush in Asami's cheeks darkened. "Oh," she laughed embarrassedly, "I mean that in the most innocent way." And Korra's eyebrows rose even more with teasing disbelief. "I'm serious!" she giggled, and when Korra squinted at her skeptically, she gave a teasing push in the shoulder. "I really liked cuddling with you last night... I want to do it again."

Despite Korra's teasing, it had made her stomach flutter the very moment Asami named her desire. She'd liked cuddling with Asami last night too. In fact, she'd loved it, and she'd loved the day they'd been having together and she didn't want it to end. It was hard to say who the real winner was when they were both getting something they wanted.

"Okay," Korra agreed.

Asami's beautiful green eyes widened like she'd been expecting Korra to decline. "Really?"

"Yeah," Korra chuckled. "Just promise not to get sick of me for hanging around so much, alright?"

"Promise."

Asami sat up to press a long, grateful kiss to Korra's lips, and there was no doubt in Korra's mind that this was exactly where she wanted to be, any day and any night that Asami wanted her here.


	5. Chapter 5

_***_ _Does this count as a fast update!? xD. A couple things, in order of importance: 1) This story started going places in my head that I never anticipated, so I sat down and mapped out a legit plan/micro plot, and it's official. There will be bending. There will be some action. Korra will be the Avatar. You'll get some explanations about wtf has been going on/why no Avatar and it's gonna span about 12 chapters (unless I input some extras purely for fluff). Fun stuff :)._

 _2) Friendly reminder that you can follow me on tumblr :P. mezoereed_

 _Last thing, it was never my intention to do drunk!Asami but I couldn't resist cuz I am official and literal trash. Okay bye *dives into dumpster*_

…..

Korra glanced out across the park, past the pond and the expanse of scattered trees, to the road on the opposite side. She and Asami had come out of a meeting with President Raiko not long ago, where they talked about the conservation project and its funding. Now they were sitting on a park bench, slouched down comfortably and watching the sun set. Korra had an arm over Asami's shoulders as Asami leaned into her and hugged her other arm. It was because of that hold on her arm that she couldn't point, but she motioned to the nearby road with her other hand.

"What about raising the roadways?" she asked.

Asami's head immediately shook against her shoulder. "That would involve major demolition."

Korra sighed. _Minimal_ demolition had been one of Raiko's rules. 'There's only so much that taxpayers will be willing to pay for,' he'd said, 'and they won't be happy if you shut down the streets.'

"What about…" she drawled thoughtfully, "building overpasses with a bunch of grass and stuff? It'll be more attractive for animals trying to get across than the actual road is."

"Aesthetically for humans, I don't know," Asami said with an apologetic tone. "And the city's too congested, we don't have a lot of space to work with." There was a short pause, during which Korra sighed again and dejectedly leaned her cheek against the top of Asami's head. "What's the matter?" Asami asked, adjusting just enough to glance up at her.

"It's not the redesign of an infrastructure without some demolition," Korra complained. "I'm just starting to feel like I might've gotten in over my head with this project… If only earthbenders were still around."

Asami angled up to press a kiss to the underside of her jaw. "Don't worry, we'll figure it out." They sat there for a minute before Asami asked, "You know what would be cool?" Korra hummed curiously. "Floating architecture."

"You mean like Zao Fu?" Korra asked.

"No," Asami said amusedly, "I mean _really_ floating."

"Like zero gravity," Korra clarified, feeling Asami nod against her. "Well, if anyone could do it, it's you."

"Thanks," Asami laughed. She released Korra's arm to glance at her watch, and then held it up so Korra could see the time. "Should we get going?"

Tonight they were going bowling with Mako and Bolin. It wasn't too often that Asami got to escape work like this, but Korra had noticed she'd been making real efforts not to be so busy all the time. She'd also been to Korra's apartment enough by now to get more comfortable with Korra's roommates, though they hadn't yet gotten the chance to really hang out together all at once.

Korra nodded and, after standing, they started hand in hand in the direction of Asami's Satomobile. Asami seemed content just to walk and continue watching the setting sun, but repeatedly Korra drew in a breath, only to release it before gathering the courage she was looking for. She had a question. One she half expected would result in rejection, both because of how busy Asami was and because Korra wasn't sure whether or not this would be asking too much too soon. She _had_ to get it out, but it took until they'd reached the car before she had the nerve.

"Asami," she prompted, receiving a curious hum in response. She let go of Asami's hand and leaned back against the passenger door of the vehicle. "There's something I wanted to say, or… ask, I guess. Before Mako and Bolin are around."

"Okay…" Asami's brow furrowed with an unmistakable hint of concern at the nervousness in Korra's voice. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Korra said instantly, "nothing like that." She reached out to retake Asami's hand, noting how she hadn't been this shy around Asami in a while now. "Okay, here's the thing… Next weekend I'm going home to visit my parents and Naga. I'll be there for a week." Korra paused, and Asami nodded that she was following. "So, um, a week is kind of a long time," she continued timidly, "and I know it's kind of short notice, but I was wondering if you wanted to come with me."

"To the Southern Water Tribe?" Asami asked in shock. "To meet your parents?"

"Yeah…" Korra answered unsurely. "I sort of talk about you sometimes… okay, a lot… and they keep asking when I'm going to bring you around." She was trying to decipher what Asami was thinking about it, but was having a hard time because Asami was being hard to read. Her cheeks had shaded, and while her green eyes were wide with something akin to panic, there was a hint of a smile on her lips. "I know you're busy," Korra said reassuringly, "and if you're not ready then-"

"No, I'd love to," Asami interrupted. "I'll have to mess with my work schedule, but yes."

Korra couldn't keep a wide grin off her face. "Really?"

"Yeah." Asami nodded, letting Korra's hand go so she could step closer and slip her arms around Korra's neck. "Sorry," she laughed, apologizing for the ambiguous reaction she'd had. "You said 'come with me' and I just… I got excited and _really_ nervous at the same time."

"Nervous?" Korra chuckled, wrapping her arms around Asami's waist. "Why?"

"Because they're your _parents_ ," Asami stated like it was obvious. "What if they don't like me?"

At the ridiculousness of that, Korra's eyebrows furrowed and one corner of her mouth tensed. "They're going to love you." She shrugged. "Besides, before you it was Mako, so it's not like their expectations are high."

Asami snorted with laughter, saying with exaggerated sympathy, "Poor Mako."

"Yeah, that was mean," Korra agreed amusedly. "You know what I mean, though. I love Mako, but all I did when we were together was vent about him, and all I do is gush about you. I think it's safe to say that my parents already like you."

"What about Naga?" Asami asked, so seriously and so adorably that it took a real effort for Korra to avoid squeezing her.

"We'll make sure you have treats in your pocket," Korra chuckled. "Simple as that." Though Asami smiled, the nod she gave was a bit hesitant, so Korra gave her an excited hug before letting her go. "Come on, let's go bowling."

At a second nod, they both jumped in the car. Asami drove them to the bowling alley, where Mako and Bolin were both waiting outside. Bolin was too busy messing around on the small airplane ride for kids outside the entrance to notice them walking up, but when Mako saw them, he tapped his brother on the arm. Bolin glanced up, joyfully vaulting out of the small airplane as they neared.

"Salami!" he shouted happily. It hadn't been that long since Bolin had seen Asami, but he ran the remaining distance between them. Grabbing her by the waist, he lifted her off the ground in a crushing hug, one tight enough that Asami's eyes bulged as she glanced at Korra for help.

"Bolin," Korra laughed, "please don't kill my girlfriend."

"Sorry!" he blurted, letting Asami go at the drop of a hat so that she barely managed to land on her feet. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Asami chuckled, giving him a gentler hug before waving at Mako. "Hi, Mako."

"Hey," Mako greeted with a friendly smile, and they all turned and started for the entrance of the bowling alley. "How was the meeting with Raiko?" he asked. In response, Korra let out an exaggerated sigh. "Not so great?"

"He gave us some pretty limiting restrictions," Asami answered as they reached the front desk.

While Bolin talked to the cashier to get their lane, Korra grumbled, "He's being cheap."

Mako's face puckered with skepticism. "Can't you just build animal bridges or something?"

"That's what I said!" Korra agreed, to which Asami rolled her eyes.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Bolin exclaimed, turning around from the desk while the cashier asked Mako his shoe size. "Picture this," and he gestured extravagantly with his hands, "the _very first ever_ animal public transportation."

For a moment, Korra and Asami just blinked at him, then the cashier asked Korra her shoe size, and as she answered, Asami said amusedly, "That's not a thing…"

"Yeah," Bolin pointed out matter-of-factly, "That's why I said 'very first ever.'"

Asami turned to tell the cashier her own shoe size, while Korra asked sarcastically, "And how will the animals pay for this public transportation?"

Bolin motioned toward Asami, "She's the engineer here, not me." They all had their shoes now, so as they headed for their lane, Bolin threw an arm over Korra's shoulders. "Your dream has given me a vision, Korra," he said with exaggerated enthusiasm, "Of a day when the animals can go where they want, when they want, in blissful animal splendor. And no human can stand in their way!"

"Right…" Korra snickered, holding back a full-blown laugh as she patted him on the arm. "Asami will make it happen," and she looked deliberately at Asami, "Won't she?"

"Yeah," Asami giggled, "sure."

"I'm going to order some food," Mako said, tossing a thumb toward the bowling alley's café. "Some seaweed wraps and octopus fritters. Anyone want anything else?"

"Mako, Mako, Mako!" Bolin prompted. "Bottoms Up Bowling!"

"Nope!" Korra said instantly, sitting down to put on her bowling shoes even though Mako's head bobbed side to side with slight agreement. "I'm out."

Asami glanced between the three of them. "What's Bottoms Up Bowling?"

"An excuse for them to get plastered," Korra laughed.

"We order a pitcher of beer," Mako explained, "and every time one of us gets a strike, the others chug a cup."

"And when we run out," Bolin added, "We order more."

Asami hummed with interest, considered it for a moment, and then smirked. "Count me in."

Korra's eyebrows rose with shock, but before she could warn Asami against it, Bolin folded his arms across his chest and casually leaned back against a ball rack. "I don't want to scare you," he began cockily, "But we're decent bowlers. We average four strikes a game."

Asami shrugged, completely unconcerned, and Korra knew her well enough by now to know that the smirk on her lips was one of confidence. No doubt Asami was way better at bowling than any of them could predict.

"Sounds like a plan," Asami said nonchalantly.

Bolin made an impressed nod, then looked at Mako and flicked his wrist toward the café. "You heard the lady."

While Mako went to order food and beer and Bolin turned to enter their names into the computer, Asami sat down next to Korra to put her bowling shoes on. "So, what's the scoop?" Asami asked. "What kind of drunks are they?"

Korra laughed, still bending over to tie her laces. "Well, Bolin is just more high energy than he already is. Mako," and Korra snorted with amusement, "he gets randomly emotional." Finished with her laces, she leaned back in her seat and draped her elbows behind her. "What I want to know is… what kind of drunk are _you_?"

Asami's lips curled with a coy smile. "I guess you'll find out."

"You're about to destroy them, aren't you?" Korra asked knowingly, and when Asami's smile widened, she shook her head, saying amusedly, "I feel so bad for them."

Mako returned with a tray of food and beer, setting it on the table near their lane. It drew Korra and Asami's focus away from each other, and they both simultaneously glanced at the screen above their lane. Bolin had given them all nicknames. Mako was Mako Cop-o, Bolin was Nuktuk, and Korra was The Brawn.

At seeing that Bolin had put her down as Salami, Asami face palmed. "I am never going to live that down."

Korra snickered, rising to her feet because she was first up. "I take full responsibility," she said, playfully pecking Asami on the cheek before going up to grab a ball.

With ball in hand, Korra stood a few feet back from their lane, wound up and started forward. When she reached the foul line, she released, watching the ball roll down the center. She could see even from here that it was starting to angle, and when it reached the pins, it only knocked seven of them down. With the next shot, she managed to knock the rest down for a spare, and high-fived the others as she resumed her seat beside Asami.

"You're up, Salami Sato," Korra teased.

Asami gave her a lighthearted scowl before rising to take her turn, and they all watched her grab a ball and approach the lane. Korra wasn't sure about Mako and Bolin, but she was holding her breath. They were all decent bowlers, and Korra would be the first to admit that Mako and Bolin were better than her. Asami, on the other hand, had been mysteriously humble about whether or not she was a good bowler. But Korra knew. She knew that Mako and Bolin were about to get wrecked.

Asami reached the lane, and for a moment she just stood there with her backs to them, holding the ball up to her chest and not moving.

"Go Asami!" Bolin cheered encouragingly, as if he thought Asami was nervous, and Korra held back a laugh.

Because then Asami went through the motions, and they watched the ball roll straight down the middle with some kind of backspin on it, tense and waiting for the result. The loud crash of pins sounded as the ball slammed straight through them, knocking every single one of them down. Asami spun to face them, throwing her arms up happily, and while Mako and Bolin's jaws dropped, Korra shot out of her chair to give Asami a double high five.

On her way back, Asami motioned to Mako and Bolin, saying smugly, "I believe that means you two drink." Then she and Korra plopped down in their seats.

Mako blinked at her in shock while he began to pour a cup for him and Bolin. "How often do you bowl?" Even as he handed a drink to Bolin, he couldn't stop staring.

"It's been years," Asami answered seriously, but there was a proud grin on her face as Mako and Bolin downed their beers.

"Okay…" Bolin muttered to himself, sounding mildly unnerved as he rubbed his hands together and headed toward the ball dispenser. "Here we go."

Korra grabbed an octopus fritter for her and Asami, throwing her free arm around Asami's shoulders so they could be close while they watched the guys take their turns. Bolin went, hitting only three on his first try and getting the rest on his second for a spare. Then it was Mako.

"So, Bolin," Asami prompted for conversation as Mako went to grab a ball. "Are you going to be working on any new movers soon?"

"Yeah," he answered happily, coming over to drop down on the other side of her as Korra. "It's not a Nuktuk mover, though."

"What's it about, then?" Korra asked. Since Mako was done with his turn, having bowled a nine, she got up to take her turn.

It took a little bit of focus for her to bowl and be able to hear Bolin's response over the music in the background and the sounds of other bowlers, but she heard him say with obvious wonder, "It's about the Avatar!"

"What about the Avatar?" Mako asked blandly. "There is no Avatar."

"There used to be," Bolin pointed out. "Varrick's coming up with a script about when the Avatar cycle ended. But he's making it so the Avatar triumphs!"

Having bowled a seven, Korra sat back down as Asami got up for her turn.

"Yeah, but the Avatar _didn't_ triumph," Mako stated. "He can't just rewrite his-" He stopped short at another loud crash of Asami getting a strike, and both he and Bolin gaped at her as she came back over to pour their drinks for them. "How did you…"

"Physics," Asami beamed proudly, handing them each a drink to gulp.

"As I was saying," Mako continued, setting his now empty cup down and talking to Bolin as Bolin rose for his turn. "Varrick can't just rewrite history for entertainment. It's… _rude_."

The conversation lulled while Bolin wound up, sending the ball hard down the center of the lane. It demolished through the middle of the pins, knocking them all down.

"Yeah!" Bolin exclaimed, jumping excitedly as he turned around. "Strike!"

Asami and Mako both chugged a beer, and now that Bolin was back, Korra said, "I think it's kind of cool that Varrick's going to tell a different story."

Mako strode up to the lane and threw his ball, calling over his shoulder as it traveled toward the pins, "It's rude!"

"I'd be the first to call Varrick out on bullshit," Asami said, watching as Korra got up for her turn. "But I agree with Korra." And Korra tossed a grateful smile back at her.

"Why?" Mako asked in disbelief. "Younger generations are already forgetting about what really happened. They're going to see Varrick's mover and think that's the truth, and they'll be confused."

"It could give people hope," Asami said, rising as Korra returned. As she started for the ball dispenser, she asked, "Could you imagine what the world would be like if the Avatar was still around?"

"There'd probably still be benders," Korra said.

"And spirits!" Bolin added.

Korra nodded her agreement. "And Ba Sing Se might be in better shape."

"And," Asami put in, sitting down because she hadn't bowled a strike this time, "the air nomads might not be secluded at the air temples."

"And benders!" Bolin repeated enthusiastically. "What if _we_ were meant to be benders?"

They all watched while Bolin went up and bowled another strike. After Asami and Mako drank, it was Mako's turn. He bowled a strike too, triumphantly shoving another full cup into Asami and Bolin's hands.

"I'd probably be a waterbender," Korra pointed out, seeing as she was from the Southern Water Tribe.

"Oh! Okay, okay." Bolin grinned while he thought about it, and Korra took the chance to go and bowl her turn. As she sat down again, Bolin snapped with revelation. "Earthbending. I'd definitely be an earthbender." He cocked his head, adding optimistically, "Or I'd be the Avatar."

Korra snorted with laughter as Asami went to bowl. "Keep dreaming big, Bolin."

"I will," he confirmed with sarcastic seriousness. "Thank you."

Another strike from Asami, and Korra noted how they weren't even paying attention now to how much they were drinking. But she'd counted five for Mako, four for Bolin, and three for Asami, and the first game wasn't even over yet. This was going to be fun.

"What kind of bender would you be, Asami?" Bolin asked with earnest interest, hurrying to bowl while Asami thought about it. His rushing kept him from getting a strike.

"I don't know," Asami mused as he sat back down. Mako rose to bowl, but as he stood, he teetered off balance, the beginning signs of drunkenness starting to show. "You alright there, Officer Mako?" Asami asked, giving him a teasing poke in the shoulder.

"Good, I'm good," he confirmed, straightening up to stride confidently to the ball dispenser.

"I could see you being an airbender," Korra said, and Bolin nodded his eager agreement.

"Yeah?" Asami asked curiously, but her eyebrows furrowed with consideration. "I don't know…" Mako came back over, and Asami nodded toward him as he sat down. "What about Mako?"

He hummed his protest at the question. "Nope, I'm not playing this game."

"Oh, come on, Mako!" Bolin encouraged pleadingly.

"Nope," Mako refused as Korra got up. "There are no benders. It's pointless."

Korra, Bolin, and Asami all looked at each other, blurting at the same exact time, "Fire," and then bursting into laughter.

Korra bowled, then Asami, Bolin, and Mako. The three of them each earned strikes, and by the next two turns and the end of the first game, they'd each taken one more. Mako was _definitely_ drunk, Bolin was definitely drunk, and Asami… well, Asami had been leaning into Korra's side since the last couple turns. _Really_ leaning, as in hugging Korra's arm with both of her own while one of her hands constantly ran up and down the length of it just to feel the muscle underneath. So far, Asami was a bit of a touchy drunk. Not that Korra minded.

"Time to change it up!" Bolin announced loudly, standing at the screen so he could change the order in which they bowled. Without turning around, he waved his hand. "Mako! More beer!"

While Mako wandered off to get more drinks, Korra glanced down at Asami, who was practically curled into her side. "You having fun?" she asked. Asami looked up at her, eyes squinting and mouth curled with drunken contentment as she let out a happy hum. "You feeling those drinks?"

Asami hummed again, but her grip on Korra's arm squeezed indicatively. "I'm feeling _your arm_ ," she murmured in what sounded like awe. "These biceps are illegal."

Despite the fact that Korra's cheeks shaded, she laughed, "I thought you liked my abs best."

"I like _all_ of it," Asami slurred, reaching for the bottom of Korra's shirt to get her hand underneath and feel her stomach.

Korra snatched her hand before it managed to touch skin, and glanced around as a deeper blush darkened her cheeks. "Maybe not here."

Instead of returning to Korra's arm, Asami's hand ran across her stomach over her shirt, and then down the opposite thigh. "I want to feel all your muscles." Asami's fingers pressed into Korra's quads, and then ran back up her arm to her shoulder. "I want to just- I want to lay right on top of you and feel all your muscles at once!" Under normal circumstances, Korra might've been getting flustered with the way Asami was touching her. Coupled with the drunken lilt, however, right now it was highly amusing. "Oh! You know what I want to do?" Asami asked enthusiastically. "I want to flop on you like a fish."

Korra snorted. "Like what?"

"Like a _fish_ ," Asami repeated with deliberate slowness, like she knew she was slurring and thought talking slow would make it sound better.

"Sexy," Korra chuckled sarcastically.

But after that, Asami paused for a moment, thought about it, and then burst into loud laughter. "It didn't make any sense!"

"I get the general idea," Korra laughed, pressing an amused kiss to the side of Asami's head.

Before Asami could say anything else, Mako clumsily dropped the beer down on the table and fell into the seat at Korra's side. " _Korra_ ," he whined dramatically. "The café guy was flirting with me again."

Korra glanced behind her toward the café to see who was at the counter. "It's just Wu, he flirts with you all the time," she pointed out, turning back around only to find that Mako's eyes were tearing up. "Oh my god," she breathed in exasperation, "why are you crying?"

" _Because_ I feel bad," Mako sniffled, slurring, "he's such an attractive guy and he deserves love but I'll never love him because I'm…" He sniffled, finishing emotionally, "I'm _straight_."

Korra did her best to hold back entertained laughter, but she could feel Asami giggling against her side. "Okay, Mako," she said comfortingly, "he'll live. He's just having fun. Don't feel bad."

"Really?" Mako asked, and when Korra nodded, she watched him go from teary-eyed back to stone-faced in the span of a second. "Okay."

A loud, excited shout sounded from the start of their lane. While they'd been paying no attention, Bolin had taken the liberty of bowling the first turn and somehow got a strike. He practically skipped back to them, jumping those last few feet with his arms up and another loud yell.

Mako shot out of his seat with a scowl on his face. "That doesn't count," he said. "You cheated."

"I assure you, brother Mako," Bolin said drunkenly, "I used nothing but my own intelligence and physical prowess."

When all Mako did was scrunch his face with a glare, Asami laughed and got up. "You're such a stiff, Mako," she said, grabbing his hands to raise his arms to shoulder height. "Loosen up." And holding his hands, she shook his arms to his sides like spaghetti noodles. "Wobble wobble wobble."

While Asami continued wiggling his arms, Bolin moved behind him, reaching around to grab his cheeks and pull them backwards. "Asami," Bolin said in a mock Mako voice, stretching his cheeks into a terse smile. "I'm the loosiest looser there is!"

Only, where Bolin said 'looser,' it sounded an awful lot like 'loser.' In combination with Bolin and Asami's antics, and the indignant and highly unamused glower in Mako's eyes, Korra couldn't help but burst into laughter. She buckled over in her seat because she was laughing so hard, which succeeded in making Mako's scowl deepen.

"Stop," Mako whined, shrugging them off and sidestepping away. "Or I'll go hang out with Wu. At least he appreciates me." At that, every one of them glanced back toward the café, and when Wu saw them looking, he grinned at them.

"Mako," Korra chuckled, "It's your turn."

"Wait, wait," Bolin protested. He poured a beer for Mako and Asami and then shoved it into their hands, watching closely until Mako was done. "Okay, now go."

Bolin was intent on watching the bowl, but Asami plopped back down at Korra's side. She turned in her seat to face Korra, and for a moment she just stared. Then she blinked slowly and drawled, "You're pretty."

"Thanks," Korra said, feeling her cheeks tint.

"No," Asami slurred insistently. "You're _really_ pretty." She reached up to take Korra's face in her hands. It was clearly meant to be gentle and maybe even romantic, but Asami was drunk enough that it was amusingly sloppy. "Like really really pretty."

Korra snickered at the way her face was being fondled, but her cheeks shaded darker. "And you're making me blush."

" _You_ make _me_ blush when I think about you," Asami said, dropping her hands to grab Korra's arm. "You and all your muscles." Asami's head fell forward so she could nuzzle her cheeks against Korra's shoulder. "And your big cute smile and your big blue eyes. And your short cute hair and your hot tight abs."

"Asami," Korra laughed, "Do you think about saying and doing this stuff when you're sober?"

Asami's eyes went wide as she gasped, "I could never!"

Korra nearly snorted. "Why not?"

"Because you're _scary_ ," Asami slurred, "'cause I like you so much."

"Come on," Korra chuckled sarcastically. "There's no way you like me more than I like you."

"Yeah there is!" Asami disagreed eagerly. "Because I l-"

"Asami!" Bolin yelled, interrupting whatever Asami had been about to say because it was her turn to bowl.

It seemed Asami had almost completely forgotten what she was about to say too, because she pecked Korra on the cheek and got up to take her turn as if that whole conversation hadn't just happened. But Korra didn't forget. She wasn't sure whether Asami was going to drunkenly repeat 'like' or whether she was going to drunkenly admit 'love,' but Korra couldn't tear her eyes away from Asami's back. Her cheeks had flared hotter than they had all night, and she was blinking in shock. She wanted to know. There was a mind-numbing curiosity at the forefront of her brain to find out, but at the back of it, she knew better than to bring it up again. Not while Asami was drunk. Not okay.

So Korra distracted herself with glancing up at the score screen. Apparently Mako hadn't bowled more than a three on his turn, and so Korra focused on Asami to see what would happen. Asami wound up, and even though her steps up to the fowl line were a bit staggered, she released the ball perfectly. It sailed through the middle of the lane with that same backspin, crashing through all the pins.

"What!" Mako shouted in disbelief as Asami skipped back to them. "Cheater! How do you do that?!"

"I told you, physics," Asami said with an intoxicated grin. "Friction and mass and veracity."

Korra's eyebrows furrowed, but before she could say anything about the mistake, Mako asked, "Did you just say veracity?"

"Yeah, that's what I said," Asami confirmed, "Veracity."

"Isn't that when you're super hungry?" Bolin slurred in confusion.

"No," Mako groaned impatiently, "That's voracity."

"I don't get it…" Bolin mused.

The three of them blinked at each other for a long span of seconds while Korra tried to control her entertainment. "Oh!" Asami exclaimed, and then laughed loudly at herself. "Velocity! _That's_ physics!"

"Oh," Bolin and Mako agreed in unison.

Korra shook her head and got up to take her turn. "You guys are smashed," she chuckled amusedly.

She took her turn bowling, earning an eight and a scowl from Mako. "How come you're not drinking?" Mako asked suspiciously. "You're cheating."

"Really?" Korra asked sarcastically as she sat back down. "Someone's got to drive you all home."

"What?" Mako asked in shock, his brown eyes widening with fear. "I think we're safer with drunk Asami driving us home!"

Korra was far too entertained with the three of them being intoxicated to be offended, but Asami's forehead scrunched angrily. "Hey!" She poked Mako in the chest with her index finger. "No." And she pointed at Korra. "She's amazing."

"Thanks, Asami," Korra chuckled.

Asami beamed at her, and then turned to Bolin because it was his turn to bowl. "Go, Bolin!" she cheered, giving him a high five as he headed for the ball rack. She completely forgot he was bowling a moment later though, because she gasped and turned back to Korra. "I love this song! Dance with me!"

"What? Um-" Korra began to blurt with protest, but she never got to finish because Asami yanked her out of her seat.

Korra wasn't much of a dancer. At least not in the middle of bowling alleys where they were literally the only two people in the entire place even dancing and she was completely sober. But Asami was grinning the biggest smile Korra had ever seen, and she was bobbing her head and throwing her arms and legs, and she turned sideways to bump hips with Korra. She was laughing and swinging and being _goofy,_ and she dipped Korra back, which, admittedly was a little terrifying given how drunk she was, but she was being _adorable_.

And Korra… well, Korra couldn't remember ever feeling like this. Couldn't remember ever feeling like there wasn't a single thing about a relationship that she'd want to change. Or like it didn't matter how fast or how hard she'd already fallen because the person she'd fallen for was more than willing to catch her in any way she needed. She couldn't remember ever feeling so comfortable. Even dancing in the middle of a bowling alley, to music that wasn't even that loud and where anyone could just stare at her like she was crazy. She was _completely_ comfortable, and Asami was… Asami was _everything_.

The dancing didn't last forever though. At this point Asami, Mako, and Bolin were drunk enough to have entirely abandoned bowling, and Korra figured she should get them home before they started passing out in the seats. So she began walking them out to the Satomobile with an arm wrapped snug around Asami's waist.

"You guys," Mako slurred as they strolled through the parking lot, and he forced his way between Korra and Asami and put an arm around each of their shoulders. "You guys," he said again, but this time he sniffled as his eyes grew watery. He was staggering, and Asami was too drunk to support his weight, so it was Korra doing all the work and she could barely walk straight with the weight of him. To make it worse, he stretched his arm farther around Korra's neck to wipe at his eyes. "You guys are the most beautiful couple," he cried, "I love your love."

Korra patted him on the back to try and calm him down, but as she did, she noticed Bolin making weird fighting motions ahead of them. "Bolin," she called, "What are you doing?"

"Practicing my earthbending!" he said enthusiastically. Then he reached down for a large decorative rock beneath a streetlamp, and raised it high above his head like he was preparing to hurl it.

"Bolin!" Korra shouted, leaving Mako and Asami behind because Bolin was most definitely going to hit the car they were passing with that rock. She reached him right before he threw it. "Let's practice earthbending later," she suggested, guiding him to put the rock down and letting out a sigh of relief.

Thank god they reached the car right after that, and while Mako and Bolin climbed into the back seat, Korra and Asami slid into the front. And all three of them passed out almost instantly. Mako and Bolin were cuddled up in the back like they were toddlers again, and Asami had curled into Korra's side to sleep on her shoulder. It was an impressively peaceful drive back to the apartment. Once she parked, Mako and Bolin stumbled out of the back, but Asami wouldn't so much as budge.

"Hey," Korra whispered, to which Asami hummed tiredly. "We're here." This time, Asami made an acknowledging but noncommittal groan, and Korra couldn't help but chuckle at it. "Alright," she said, easing out of the driver's side. Only, Asami wrapped her arms around Korra's neck as she did, so it brought Asami with her. "Don't let go," Korra instructed gently, slipping one arm under Asami's back and the other under her knees.

She kicked the car door closed with her foot and began to carry Asami to the apartment. As she did, she felt Asami press a grateful kiss to the side of her neck before nuzzling into it, and she rested her cheek on the top of Asami's head to return the soft affection. Once they got inside, she carried Asami into her room and set her on the bed, then went back out to the kitchen to grab a large glass of water and some headache medicine.

"Asami," Korra prompted quietly, setting the medicine on the nightstand and then extending the water. "Drink this real quick, then you can sleep."

Asami pushed up tiredly and just enough to gulp down the cup, and before falling back into the bed to sleep, she gave Korra a thankful smile. Korra went back out to the kitchen to refill the glass, and upon returning to her room, she set it on the nightstand next to the medicine, that way Asami would have it in the morning if she woke up first. Korra climbed across the bed to lie on the opposite side, and she'd hardly settled in when Asami turned just enough to grab her hand. Holding that hand, Asami turned back over and brought Korra's arm with her, so that Korra's arm was wrapped tight around her and she was hugging Korra's hand to her chest.

They'd cuddled like this plenty of times, but the deliberateness with which Asami had taken her hand put butterflies in her stomach. So she squeezed a little tighter as she scooted into Asami's back and buried her face in the back of Asami's neck. And it definitely wasn't the first night that Korra had fallen asleep with a smile on her face.


	6. Chapter 6

_***I honestly don't even know what to say for myself... this chapter is almost 15k words and literally like half of that is sex. Enjoy the smut my lovelies._ _  
_ _And the plot... enjoy that too..._

….

The small airplane Korra and Asami had taken to get to the Southern Water Tribe had just landed, and not once had Asami torn her eyes away from the window yet. Having grown up in such a privileged family, Korra would have thought Asami had traveled to the Southern Water Tribe before, but she was staring as though she'd never seen anything like this in her life. Korra appreciated the fact that she seemed entranced, but couldn't really say she understood. It was all just snow and ice – far more fun to actually be and play in than it was to look at.

"Have you ever been here?" Korra asked curiously.

For the first time, Asami glanced away from the window. "Once. A long time ago when my dad invented the snow mobile." Her gaze returned immediately, taking in the way the midmorning sun glimmered off all the icy surfaces. "It's so bright, and surprisingly blue."

"If you like the view now, just wait," Korra said excitedly. "There's a spot we can take Naga to where it's…" She paused searching for the right word to describe what it was like outside the city, with none of the icy buildings blocking the view. "It's breathtaking." There was a soft ding to alert them that the cabin doors were open and they could get off the plane. At the noise, Korra's lips pulled into an excited grin. "You ready?"

Asami took in a deep breath, peering out the window one last time before letting it out and nodding. As they disembarked, Asami pulled on the heavy winter coat she'd brought. Korra had never really gotten used to the heat in Republic City, so all she needed was the light jacket she shrugged into. They stopped down by the cargo hold to wait for an attendant to bring out their bags, and they'd hardly been waiting for half a minute before something slammed into Korra's back so hard that she stumbled forward. Before she could turn around and see what it was, Asami caught a glimpse. It scared her so bad she yelped, and Korra wheeled around protectively, only to feel her face light up at seeing her polar bear dog.

"Naga!" she exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around Naga's massive head, and feeling a tongue run up her face once she let go. "I missed you too, girl."

Then she looked at Asami to make introductions, but Asami was both gawking and blushing. "You said Naga was a dog," Asami said in shock, timidly extending her hand. "Korra, that's a polar bear dog."

"Did I?" Korra laughed nervously.

She didn't get to explain herself, because while Asami worked up the courage the pet Naga, a familiar figure came running around the corner of the airport terminal. "Naga!" Tonraq yelled, clearly having chased her around the building. When he realized where she was, however, he continued running for a different reason. "Korra," he said happily, only stopping when he reached her. His massive arms wrapped around her in a tight hug, and he was so tall that it lifted her at least a foot off the ground.

"Hey, Dad," Korra chuckled, returning the embrace. When he let her go, Korra half turned toward Asami, who'd just pulled one of the treats out of her pocket to give it to Naga. "Dad, this is Asami. Asami, my dad, Tonraq."

Asami wiped the saliva Naga had coated her hand with off on her jeans, offering a timid and apologetic smile as she extended that hand toward Tonraq. "It's nice to meet you," she said.

"You too," Tonraq chuckled, shaking her hand with a friendly smile. Then he motioned toward Naga and told Korra, "We put the saddle on her and she knew we were coming to get you."

"Aw," Korra cooed, wrestling Naga's head in her hands. "You just couldn't wait to see me, could you, girl?"

"How long has it been?" Asami asked curiously.

Korra shrugged. "Only a few months."

" _Only_ a few months," Tonraq repeated sarcastically. He reached down to grab their bags. "Come on, your mom's dying to meet Asami."

Since Tonraq had picked up their bags for them, Korra took Asami's hand while they traveled around the terminal to the outside, where he'd parked his snowmobile. As he loaded up their luggage on the back of it, Korra motioned for Asami to climb up onto Naga's saddle, and then hopped up in front of her.

"Hold on tight," she told Asami, feeling a pair of arms go around her waist. Then she glanced down at her dad, who was just finishing strapping the bags down. "We'll race you home," she said teasingly, "See ya." And when she told Naga to go, they lurched forward.

"Hey!" he hollered after them, "that's cheating!"

Korra heard the snowmobile start up behind them, but they were already racing away from the airport. Naga tore past shops and homes, going so fast that the icy wind was whipping against their faces and through their hair. So fast that the cold blast pierced through Korra's thin jacket, actually managing to make her shiver in spite of Asami's warm grip around her. Before long, the Royal Palace was in view, and Naga seemed so eager to keep running that she didn't stop until they sprinted past the palace gates, and she came to a skidding halt at the main entrance.

Korra shivered once more as she jumped to the ground below, and though she knew Asami didn't need the help, she offered a hand to aid her in getting down. It would've been impossible to miss the way Asami was gaping again. The moment she reached solid ground, she turned toward the Royal Palace, blinking at it while her jaw dropped.

"You live _here_?" she asked, turning toward Korra.

"Kind of?" Korra answered unsurely, reaching out to take Asami's hand and lead her toward the side of the large palace. They could do an official tour later, but right now, Korra knew her mom was waiting.

"You were impressed with the estate," Asami gawked, motioning to the expansive building they were walking beside, "And you live in an _actual_ palace."

"Yeah," Korra laughed, "but it's not like the whole thing is our home." She grinned and waved at two of the entrance guards who opened a side door for them. "They do business and government meetings and chief stuff in most of the place. We just live in a smaller area up here." They stepped onto an elevator, crowding into the front corner because Naga took up a majority of the space. As Korra pressed her palm to the scanning pad, she noticed Asami looking at it curiously, and chuckled, "Courtesy of Varrick Global Industries…"

Asami laughed her acknowledgement. "If there's one thing Varrick knows, it's international marketing."

The lift took them up to the second floor of the palace's eastern wing, opening directly to the hallway that led into Korra's home. Right across from the elevator was a large open archway, beyond which was a living space, dining room, and kitchen. To the left and right of the archway were doors, which Korra knew led to different bedrooms – her parents' room on the left, her room and two guest rooms on the right.

"Mom?" Korra called, leading Asami across the hall and through the archway into the living room. While she waited for a response, she held her arms out, gesturing around and saying to Asami, "See? Humble home."

"Korra?" Her mom paced out of the kitchen, grinning when she saw Korra standing in the middle of the room. She hurried over, wrapping Korra in a tight hug. "Where's your father?" she asked as she let go.

"Eating our snow," Korra snickered, and while her mom rolled her eyes, she motioned to Asami. "Mom, this is Asami. Asami, my mom, Senna."

"Hi," Asami began to say, and Korra could see the surprise on her face when Senna pulled her into a friendly embrace. "It's nice to meet you," Asami finished with a laugh.

Senna let her go and reached for the thick jacket she was wearing. "Let me take this for you," she offered, helping Asami shrug out of it. Once it was off, she handed it to Korra. "Hang this up, sweetheart."

Korra gave a sarcastic salute, noting the grateful smile on Asami's lips while Senna began to lead her to the kitchen. After hanging the coat on the rack near the door, Korra trailed after them, taking in a deep breath of the food she could smell cooking.

"Mmm," Korra hummed with recognition. "Squid soup."

"I hope you're hungry," Senna confirmed.

Korra nodded, but instead of plopping down at the small table in the kitchen, she followed Asami to the icebox. "You can't get squid soup like my mom makes in Republic City," she said.

Asami smiled at that. "I can't wait to try it." She glanced over the various pictures on the outside of the icebox, gasping and pointing at one in particular. "Is that _you_?" she asked, and when Korra nodded, she nearly vibrated with excitement. "Look at you! You were so cute!" She grabbed Korra's face, but didn't take her eyes off the picture. "Those cheeks! That _belly_!" And from behind them, Senna chuckled.

"You like that little pot belly?" Korra laughed. She lifted up her own shirt to expose her abdomen and patted her stomach, asking playfully, "Which do you like better? 'Cause I can get a gut for you, if you want."

Korra was only teasing, but Asami's face turned red as her eyes darted from Korra to Senna and back again, with a very clear look of 'you did _not_ just try to _flirt_ with me in front of your _mom_.' Before Korra could say anything, though, her dad walked in.

"Korra," he scolded lightheartedly, "Keep your clothes on. I thought you outgrew this."

And now Korra tinted, because Asami's eyebrows rose with a slightly vengeful interest as she asked, "Outgrew it?"

"Yeah," Tonraq confirmed, motioning toward the picture on the icebox as he sat down at the table, "That was taken one of the few times Korra actually kept her clothes on."

" _Dad_ ," Korra protested, feeling her cheeks burn hotter.

"It's true," Senna agreed. "That wild child probably got into every room in this entire palace naked."

"MOM!" Korra objected, but it was broken by a laugh because Asami was clearly amused. "I liked the cold, okay?" she admitted in defeat.

Asami looked at Korra just long enough to give a playful smirk, and then she deliberately pulled out a chair to sit across the table from Tonraq. "Got any stories?"

"Do we have stories?" Tonraq said through a sarcastic laugh. Korra sat down next to Asami, groaning as she buried her face in her arms. "The first time Korra ever tried to ride Naga, it was right in that hall."

"I was wearing underwear that time!" Korra said eagerly.

"Not for long, you weren't," Senna said, setting bowls of soup in front of each of them, and then sitting down with one of her own.

"Her mom and I were in here," Tonraq continued, "and all of a sudden, we hear this tiny yell start disappearing down the hall. So we run out just in time to see them turning the corner, and Korra's got a grip on little Naga's tail, and Naga's running so fast that Korra's just dragging and bouncing along behind her. I guess Korra started on her back, but Naga took off so fast she fell." He paused because he was already laughing to himself. "We start chasing after them, running by Korra's underwear because she was dragging so bad they got pulled off of her. Naga hauled her, butt naked, all the way down and out to the main courtyard." When he paused again, Asami snorted with laughter. "You should've seen Korra's face! She popped out of the snow and she didn't know what hit her."

Even Korra was laughing at herself, and though she was still embarrassed about it, she felt slightly comforted by the fact that Asami's hand landed on her thigh under the table.

"We got another one," Tonraq volunteered, taking a slurp of soup.

"Not the parliament story," Korra whined knowingly.

"The parliament story," Tonraq confirmed, and then to Asami, "Let me preface this by saying that I don't have the best relationship with my brother. He's really… traditional."

"He's uptight," Senna muttered.

"Yeah, alright, he's uptight," Tonraq agreed. "He's the chief of the Northern Tribe, and this one time, when Korra was about four, he and some other officials came down for negotiations – it was when we in the south were trying to gain independence." He paused, and while Asami nodded that she was following, Korra let out an already embarrassed sigh. "Korra liked to follow me around and sneak into meetings. She knew we were having a meeting that day, so she snuck in ahead of time and climbed up this big stuffed platypus bear and clung to the back so nobody would notice." He and Senna both snickered amusedly, causing Asami to do the same.

"So we're in the middle of this meeting," Tonraq continued, "when someone brings in some fresh baked kale cookies and sets them on the table. Korra loves kale cookies. Now, I'm at the opposite end of the table from my brother, who's sitting right in front of this stuffed platypus bear." His shoulders shook with laughter. "So I see Korra, _naked_ , climb out onto the bill of the platypus bear, and she's stretching as far as she can to get a good whiff of those fresh baked cookies. Only, she stretches too far." This time, when he paused, Asami covered her mouth with her hands to hide her widening grin. "Korra falls and rolls onto the meeting table, landing face first with her little butt in the air, mooning my brother."

"Oh my god," Korra groaned, dropping her head against the table.

"Long story short," Tonraq chuckled, "Korra thinks she's in a lot of trouble because she sees the furious look on my brother's face. So she bolts off the table toward the door, and humor's always gotten her out of trouble with her mom and me, so she stops at the door and turns, and points at us and goes, ' _I'm_ the chief, and you got to deal with it!' But my brother just glares at her, so she turns with her arms failing above her and she runs screaming out the door. The only one in the entire room who didn't burst into laughter was her uncle."

Asami was laughing so hard that no sound was coming out, but after a few moments, she looked at Korra and snickered in disbelief, "Did you seriously say that?"

"Yeah," Korra chuckled.

"Oh my god!" Asami laughed. "You were so cute!"

"She's lucky she was cute," Senna said teasingly.

"Were you a trouble maker?" Asami asked with scolding playfulness.

Tonraq huffed amusedly. "Notice how we don't have expensive things."

"I was energetic," Korra corrected, teeth setting in a wide grin despite the rosy tint in her cheeks.

"Do you have more stories?" Asami asked hopefully.

"We even have pictures to go with some of them," Senna said happily, and she got up and headed toward the living room to retrieve a couple photo albums.

"Nooo," Korra whined, setting her elbows on the table and propping her chin in her palms. "This is so cliché."

Asami giggled and nudged her with a shoulder. "You're not getting out of this one."

"You owe me so bad," Korra muttered teasingly.

When Senna returned with the albums, they literally sat there for the next couple hours, much to Korra's dismay. Though, she supposed it was partially her fault that they had so many stories to tell, what with her being such an eventful child and all. Most of the stories involved all the trouble she got into with young Naga, like climbing up in the pantry for treats only to have the shelf fall and Senna find them both buried under a pile of rice because the sack broke open. Or the time they were playing hide and seek with Tonraq and hid in a delivery truck, and had to get picked up from the fishing docks because they'd fallen asleep in the back.

After a couple hours of stories, during which Korra's face was in a constant state of scarlet, she couldn't take much more of it. Plus, she had plans – it was already afternoon and time was ticking before sunset, which came early this time of year.

"Okay," she prompted, rising from the table. "I'm taking Asami out to show her the city."

"Are you coming back for dinner?" Senna asked, following with Tonraq as Korra dragged Asami toward the archway to the hall.

"No," Korra answered readily, grabbing Asami's jacket on the way out. "Don't wait up for us." She sprinted away to her room to get a blanket, and then darted back to where Asami was waiting at the elevator.

"Alright," Senna said, waving as they got on the lift with Naga. "Have fun."

"Behave yourself!" Tonraq added.

Just before the doors closed, Korra managed to call, "Can't make any promises!"

"Your poor parents," Asami laughed, and she took advantage of the fact that Naga was crowding them into a corner of the elevator, using the opportunity to scoot close and fold her hand in Korra's. "I wonder how many near heart attacks you gave them as a kid."

"Probably a bunch," Korra chuckled. "Were you a crazy kid?"

"Nope," Asami answered. "I was an angel."

"No way," Korra said in disbelief, leading them back outside once the elevator doors opened. All Asami did was shake her head, insisting that it was the truth. "Okay," Korra agreed reluctantly, "but I know you're an adrenaline junkie. If I knew you, I bet it would've been so easy to get you into all kinds of trouble."

"Probably," Asami giggled, "I wouldn't have been able to resist that face." Korra grinned at her, and then motioned toward Naga to let her know she could climb up. "Where are you taking me?" Asami asked as she got on.

Korra strapped the blanket onto Naga's saddle, and then got on in front of Asami as she answered, "To ride some otter penguins."

"You can do that in the city?" Asami asked in surprise. Korra shook her head and told Naga to go, and as they started for their first destination, Asami seemed to recall that Korra had almost been kidnapped as a kid. "…Are you allowed to leave the city?"

"Legally, yeah," Korra answered, turning her head enough so Asami could hear her. "Parentally… no…"

"Korra," Asami whined, "your parents like me so far, and I don't want to mess it up."

"Don't worry," Korra assured her. She told Naga to stop because they'd reached the general store, and before jumping off, she turned around to face Asami. "I do this all the time, it'll be great."

"Promise?"

"Yeah." Korra leaned in and pressed a playfully chaste kiss to her lips. "I got the perfect date planned." She hopped down, saying as she turned for the store, "Be right back."

She hurried into the shop, already knowing exactly what she needed to get. First things first, she picked up some fresh fish to give to the otter penguins. Then she grabbed a small case of firewood and a lighter, and practically strutted to the check out counter because this was truly going to be perfect. After paying, she rushed back outside and strapped everything to the back of Naga's saddle, then climbed up again in front of Asami.

"Hang on," she instructed, unable to contain a smile when Asami's arms snaked around her waist. "Let's go, Naga!"

And they were off, racing once more through the city. Going as fast as they were, it didn't take too long to get past the final homes and buildings, and they were finally out in the open. Naga picked up speed, so eager for a good run that it felt like they were gliding over the expanse of snowy tundra. It felt good to be back in the open air. Korra loved Republic City, but there was nothing like the crisp freshness of southern air. The cold filled her lungs and her blood. It made her feel alive, and that invigorating sensation was heightened by the enticing grip on her waist.

In no time, Korra recognized that they were coming up on the spot near the water, where she knew the otter penguins liked to hang out. She brought Naga to a stop a decent distance away so it wouldn't scare them off. "You ready?" she asked Asami as she grabbed the fish. Asami nodded, so she motioned to Naga and told her to stay put.

Korra took Asami's hand, smiling with gleeful anticipation the entire walk to the edge of the hill. Three tiers separated the entire slope, and at the bottom of the first was a whole colony of otter penguins, an expansive mix of black and white that made Asami draw in an amazed breath.

"There are so many of them," she mused.

Korra nodded happily, handing Asami a fish as they continued down the hill. When they reached the group of otter penguins, Korra strode to the edge of the tier. "You want to lure one to the edge," she explained to Asami, demonstrating with an otter penguin, which she coaxed forward with the fish in her hand. Asami did the same, smiling at the way the animal followed hungrily. "You got to get it to lie down, like this." The otter penguin dropped to its stomach when Korra lowered the fish to the snow. "Then you just climb on!"

She hopped flat on the animals back and gave it the fish, and it immediately tipped over the edge of the hill. "Come on, Asami!" she hollered back as she picked up speed, unable to see whether or not Asami had been successful.

At least, she wasn't sure until a thrilled shout sounded behind her. "Woo!" Asami screamed, and as they reached the second tier, Asami's otter penguin caught up.

Korra glanced sideways, catching the ecstatic look on Asami's face as they sped on. They were both laughing, and what with riding Naga and now the otter penguins, Korra's nose and ears were getting cold, but she didn't care. They flew off the edge of the second tier and sledded down toward the water, enjoying every second of the adrenaline rush of zooming downhill. It was almost to the end when Korra realized that if they stayed on then the otter penguins would take them straight off the ice and into the ocean.

"Bail!" Korra shouted. She and Asami both rolled off their animals at the same time, and they were going so fast that they spun downhill a few feet before finally coming to a stop. "You okay?" Korra asked worriedly, springing up out of the snow to make sure Asami wasn't hurt.

"Yeah!" Asami hollered, jumping up from where she'd landed. "Woo! That was awesome!"

Korra laughed, and her blood was still rushing and she was so happy that Asami had had so much fun that she sprinted over and wrapped her arms around Asami's waist, lifting her up and spinning her around in a happy hug.

"Can we do that again?" Asami asked eagerly as Korra put her down. Her cheeks and the tip of her nose were red with cold, but her green eyes were bright with excitement.

Korra patted her sweater pocket to make sure the food hadn't fallen out. "Well, we do still have fish left," she answered with a grin. "Race you to the top!" She immediately took off running up the hill.

"Hey, cheater!" Asami yelled amusedly, sprinting after her.

It didn't take more than a few feet for Korra to already start huffing with exertion. It was _hard_ running uphill in the snow. She could hear Asami huffing behind her, and it was even worse because they were both still laughing. To add to it, Asami caught up just enough to grab Korra's hand. It seemed she'd only meant to slow Korra down, but Korra was exerting so much energy in running that she couldn't stay upright. She fell, and Asami was so close that she tripped over Korra's legs and fell too, so they were a giggling mess of frozen limbs in the snow.

"This is a lot harder than I thought it would be," Asami panted through her laughter.

"You're telling me," Korra agreed amusedly, short breaths fogging the air as she glanced up the hill. "We're almost there. We got to hurry, the sun will start setting soon."

"Okay," Asami heaved, struggling to her feet. Korra began to do the same, but she only got halfway before Asami teasingly shoved her back down. "See you at the top!" And she took off running again.

Korra snorted with laughter and vaulted upright, chasing after Asami. There was no way she'd catch up, she was way too exhausted, especially because she was still laughing by the time she reached the top. "You play dirty, Sato," she huffed playfully. "Got to say, I like that about you."

Asami grinned triumphantly, planting a slightly apologetic kiss to Korra's cheek. "We still have time for one more?"

"Let's do it," Korra agreed.

They coaxed a fresh pair of otter penguins to the edge of the hill with their last two fish, got them to lie down, and then hopped on. It didn't matter how many times Korra had done this in the past; it was always exhilarating. The fact that she was getting to share it with Asami only made it that much more fun. By the time they reached the bottom again, she couldn't wipe the stupid smile off her face, but at least Asami was grinning just as big as she was.

Since they were running short on time, instead of trekking back up the hill, Korra put two fingers in her mouth and let out a shrill whistle. Naga scattered the remaining otter penguins on her way down, but that was okay, Korra figured she deserved some fun too. They climbed onto Naga's back, and once more they were racing across the ice. It might just have been her imagination, but it felt like Asami's grip around her waist was tighter now than it had been before, and Korra liked to chalk it up to how well things were going. So far, her plan to spoil Asami with this date was going according to plan.

By the time they got close to their destination, the sun had just begun changing the colors of the sky. Naga ran up to the large gates, through the single one that was ajar, and into the ruins of an old compound. She came to a stop outside a massive old building, one Korra had explored only a couple of times before.

"What is this place?" Asami asked, jumping down after Korra.

Korra retrieved the wood, lighter, and blanket from Naga's saddle. "Some kind of training grounds," she answered, motioning for Asami to follow. As much as she'd have loved to dig around together, there wasn't time. "I think one of the Avatars used to stay here." Korra led the way into the building, knowing her destination was a tower at the very top. However, Asami was so intrigued with looking at everything they passed – old paintings and dusty statues and a room full of old books – that she was trudging along slowly. "Come on," Korra chuckled, taking Asami's hand to gently pull her toward the stairs. "We'll come explore another day."

Asami picked up her pace, and followed Korra willingly up the long flight of twisted stairs. Eventually, they reached the tower, and before pushing open the door, Korra turned to look at her. "Close your eyes."

Asami closed her eyes, and Korra carefully led her into the darkened tower. Their real destination was the glass double doors at the opposite end that led out onto a balcony, and through which Korra could already see the start of sunset. But she didn't want the surprise to be ruined if Asami got an early peek. So she turned Asami's back to the doors.

"You can open," Korra said, "but watch me." She waited for Asami's eyes to flutter open, and stood there for a brief moment to make sure she wouldn't start peering around. "Watch me," she said again as she strode over to the fire place. She bent over to toss some of the wood into it, stacking it nicely so she'd be able to get a fire started. "Keep watching me," she repeated suspiciously, desperate not to let that view get spoiled.

"Oh, I'm watching," Asami said, a teasing amount of flirtation in her voice. It only took a moment for Korra to realize that her bent over position was offering quite a view of its own. Despite the fact that she blushed deeply, she gave her butt a playful shake, pleased to earn a delighted laugh.

The lighter made it easy to get a flame growing successfully, and so Korra spread out the blanket she'd brought in front of it and then made her way back to Asami. "Okay, close your eyes again."

"Really?" Asami chuckled. "A fire and a blanket? Is that the big surprise? Because if you want to know what it looks like to me…"

"I'll show you," Korra laughed, ignoring the fact that a blanket and a fire clearly looked like a means of seduction. That really wasn't the plan… though, she wouldn't necessarily complain if they got carried away… She grabbed Asami's hands and lifted them to her face. "Cover."

Asami shook her head with amusement and did as she was told, allowing Korra to guide her across the tower and out the double doors. Korra took her all the way to the edge of the balcony, making sure to close the doors behind them and that Asami was facing the sunset before stepping sideways out of the way.

"Alright," Korra said. "You can look now."

Asami lowered her hands, and as they fell, so did her jaw. The balcony overlooked the entire expanse of frozen tundra that separated them from the city and the ocean, and Korra couldn't have timed this better if she tried. She'd got Asami out at the exact point when the sky was at its most colorful. It was alight with pastel golds, oranges, pinks, purples, and blues, the kinds of colors that reflected off the bottom of dark clouds in a magical glow. It wasn't dark yet, but lights were already being turned on at the Harbor City. They glittered amidst the snow, looking more like the twinkling of stars reflected off the earth rather than a city.

"Wow," Asami murmured in awe, and leaned over the waist high balcony as if that would give her an even better view. "Korra, it's _beautiful_."

"I'm glad you like it," Korra said happily. She set her elbows on the banister to lean at Asami's side, feeling her lips curl when Asami hooked an arm through hers.

"I love it," Asami said. She squeezed Korra's arm fondly, dropping her head to the side to rest it on Korra's shoulder. "How did you find this place?"

Korra shrugged, taking in the darkening sky while reveling in the heat of Asami at her side. "I sort of just happened on it with Naga." She leaned her cheek against the top of Asami's head. "I think this was the Avatar's room. I used to come up here and think about it."

At that, Asami hummed with curiosity. Korra turned around to lean back against the balcony, pulling Asami over so she was leaning against the front of Korra instead of the balcony. Asami could still see the sunset because she was taller, and Korra wasn't worried about watching it herself – she'd seen sunsets like this a hundred times. What she really wanted to see was the way it reflected in Asami's bright eyes.

"What did you used to think about when you came up here?" Asami prompted, slipping her arms around Korra's neck.

Korra wrapped her own arms around Asami's waist, offering a timid shrug. "I don't know, everything. What I wanted to do with my life, mostly."

When she paused, Asami leaned forward even more, resting the entirety of her weight against Korra in a gentle embrace. She even dropped her lips and chin against Korra's forehead, just settling there to be as close as possible while she continued to watch the sunset over the top of Korra's head. And Korra wasn't watching the sunset anyway; she closed her eyes just to bask in the feel of it.

"I used to think about the Avatar," Korra continued quietly. "They had so much responsibility, and expectation, but all that power… They had so much ability to do good." Korra let out a soft sigh. She'd never told anyone this before; she'd never known how. It wasn't like she was relaying some deep dark secret. The insecurity wasn't as easy to put into words, but she felt comfortable enough with Asami to try expressing it, and she knew that even if she didn't get it out the way she wanted, Asami would understand. "I used to wonder what it was like, being so capable. I mean, I _still_ wonder, you know? What would it be like to help so many people?"

"That's why you went to Republic City," Asami said against her forehead. It was both a statement and a question, a request for Korra to keep sharing in any way she could.

"My dad's a great chief," Korra replied. "It'd be hard to follow in his footsteps… I'm not sure I could." In response, she felt Asami press a soft kiss to her forehead. "I don't even think I can make a difference _anywhere_ , but I was up here when I decided I had to try. I just want to do… _something_."

"You will," Asami said without a hitch, pulling away just enough to meet Korra's gaze. "You're smart, and strong, and determined, and kind, and you _care_." After that, she muttered under her breath, "And you're kind of gorgeous."

"You're one to talk," Korra chuckled, blushing shyly, but a moment later she let out a soft breath. "But you're already a CEO. Mako's a detective. Bolin's a mover star. I'm just a barista…"

"Um," Asami started sarcastically, "you're the project leader for a massive conservation project."

" _You're_ the project leader," Korra argued. "I'm just the girl who annoyed the president into hiring you."

"If anything you're my boss," Asami said reassuringly. "I couldn't approve a plan without confirming it with you first, because you know what the wildlife needs." Asami shrugged. "Besides, you saved my company by getting me this job. The conservation project will probably get Raiko re-elected. It'll save a bunch of animals, and make civilians feel better about themselves in the process. You're _already_ helping people." Asami loosened her arms from around Korra's neck to take her face in her hands. "Don't sell yourself short," she said sincerely, a delicate thumb caressing Korra's cheek. "You're capable of so much already."

Korra couldn't help it that a severely grateful smile creased her lips, or that her heart swelled so bad her smile grew to a grin. Asami wasn't just saying all of that to make her feel better, she could see that in those beautiful green eyes. Asami genuinely believed it. She believed Korra could make a difference, believed in Korra's potential, and Korra could see the version of herself that she'd always wanted to be reflected in that tender gaze. Asami had taken her insecurity, and presented it in a way that made it feel like a strength.

And Korra didn't really know what to say, so she leaned upward and pressed a soft, grateful kiss to Asami's lips. "Thanks," she whispered when she pulled away, hoping Asami could see in her eyes just how grateful she truly was. "Asami…" she prompted a moment later, noting how the sun was nearly gone. Asami hummed curiously. "Your hands are ice cold."

Asami laughed, removing her palms from Korra's face and wincing guiltily. "Yeah, I'm kind of freezing."

" _That's_ why I built the fire," Korra chuckled.

She took Asami's hand and led her back indoors, glad for the sigh of relief Asami gave the moment they were in the safety of the tower. "It's a lot warmer in here already," Asami said happily. And she must've truly been warming up already, because instead of going to sit in front of the fire, she wandered toward an old bookshelf. Korra followed her to it. It was too dark even with the firelight to read the titles, but Asami ran a hand down the spines as she asked, "An Avatar used to live here?"

"I think so," Korra answered.

Asami left the books for a table nearby, picking up a long staff set on top of it. "What was their name?"

Korra shrugged. "I don't know." She watched Asami's hand slide up the staff, and her finger must've triggered something, because a large set of wings at the top and a smaller set at the bottom shot outward. Asami visibly flinched, and Korra let out a soft laugh. "I'm kind of thinking that if we were kids, you'd be the one to get me into trouble. You're curious."

Asami hummed her agreement. Somehow she figured out how to get the wings to retract, and after she set the staff back on top of the various sheets of paper on the table, she turned around to lean casually back against it. "But you're rebellious."

"Am I?" Korra asked amusedly, and something about the inviting way Asami was leaning back against the table made her stride forward. She didn't get as close as she had been on the balcony, didn't press herself against Asami's body, but she put her hands on top of Asami's at the edge of the table and leaned in flirtatiously, catching the coy smirk on Asami's lips as she did.

"We're in an abandoned compound in the middle of nowhere," Asami pointed out sarcastically. "When you're not even supposed to leave the city because you almost got kidnapped as a child."

Korra wasn't sure if it was intentional, but Asami seemed to lean in to meet her advance. It was encouraging, and Korra so rarely got the nerve to actually try being flirtatious and smooth, but today had already been going _so_ well. She felt confident. So she put one foot to the inside of Asami's and slid it outward, doing the same with her other so it spread her legs, creating enough space for Korra to step between them. She inched forward, finally getting close enough that, if Asami wanted any space between them, she'd have to lean back. But she didn't lean back. She let Korra press right up against the front of her so their faces were less than an inch apart, and Korra caught the brief glance Asami stole at her lips.

"So," Korra said lowly, in as enticing a tone as she could, "Do you like that about me?"

Asami's lips thinned with a smile, and she made a deliberate look between their bodies and down at their feet. "Did you practice that?"

Korra's cheeks colored instantly. "Come on," she whined pleadingly. "One of the few times I'm successful at being smooth and you call me out o-"

Asami cut her off with a kiss, one deep and open enough that Korra was instantly confused about if she hadn't managed to get Asami even slightly flustered. But after a couple seconds, she didn't care. Asami pulled her hands out from under Korra's to slip them around the back of her neck, and Korra knew she had to have had some effect, because she hadn't even taken her own hands off the table, she hadn't touched Asami at all, but Asami was already leaning back like she wanted it. Like she wanted Korra even closer than she already was. And the kiss didn't last long at all, but when Asami broke it, Korra was breathless. She was stunned by the intensity of it. By the implications behind the way Asami didn't pull back when she stopped, and the way she still had her hands at the back of Korra's neck and the way she was leaning. It was encouraging.

"Yeah," Asami answered, a whisper against her lips. "I like it about you."

And _Korra_ was flustered. It didn't matter that the kiss was hardly ten seconds long. Asami was capable of rendering her desperate in half the time, and that left her determined. Her eyes fell to Asami's lips, she took them with her own, and her hands instantly left the table for Asami's hips, because she wanted Asami to do more than lean with welcome. She wanted Asami to be as desperate as she felt every time they kissed like this. Wanted to feel hands clutching at her back. Wanted to taste every hot breath on her tongue and feel every needful shudder against her fingertips. She wanted _Asami_. Wanted _all_ of her, and she wanted Asami to need the same.

At the constant approval of Asami's lips moving against hers, Korra's hands left Asami's hips to wander higher and take in the shape of her body, but her jacket was _so_ thick. Korra couldn't feel the curves that she wanted. The curves that she _knew_ were there. So she reached upward, creating just enough space between them so she could grab the zipper, and if Asami wanted her to stop, she made no sign of it. She craned forward so Korra's lips couldn't get out of reach, and it had only been Korra's intention to undo the jacket, to open it so she could just get her hands inside, but Asami released her hold on Korra's neck. Her shoulders angled back with clear invitation to take it off completely, and Korra wouldn't have refused even if her life depended on it.

She pushed the jacket off Asami's shoulders, down her arms, until Asami impatiently pulled her hands out of the cuffs and reached up for Korra's face. For the next few moments, Korra forgot why she'd taken the jacket off, because while the hands on her face were gentle, the resolve of them was clear. They were there to plead for depth. They were there to make sure that, no matter how distracted Korra got with her own hands, or how hard it already was to breathe, the kiss didn't end. They were there to make sure that Korra's lips didn't stop closing around Asami's top one, or that her tongue didn't forget to meet each silky caress Asami made with her own.

When Korra finally remembered her hands, it was because Asami pulsed into her. Into her chest and then her hips, with the kind of delicate roll to beg for contact. Her hands met Asami's waist, tracing upward along that curve. Korra's fingertips followed the arc of her waist around to her back. They fell into every contour of muscle and bone all the way up to her shoulder blades, where Korra pressed to bring her that much closer. In response to it, Asami moved against her again. Another deliberate roll with so much emphasis in her hips, and Korra pushed right back.

It made her hands want more, and it made them brave. They dropped back to Asami's hips, found the hem of her long-sleeved shirt, and slipped back up underneath. And Korra _never_ imagined that Asami would be _so_ soft, and _so_ warm. Her skin was so smooth that Korra's fingers slid along effortlessly, and without that shirt between them, Korra could feel _everything_. The easy lines that defined Asami's abs. The gentle slope of her naval. Every rib. Every column of her spine. Every rapid breath that expanded the anatomy beneath her touch. And Asami was strong, she was a fighter and Korra could feel the muscle to prove it, but the shape of her body also displayed her finesse. Korra felt the demand for delicacy and sophistication and was torn between desires, because she didn't know if what she wanted more was to show gentle appreciation or to suck and nip bruises into every inch of flesh she could uncover.

And there was flesh she still craved to touch. Flesh that was undulating beneath her with every breath and push Asami made, and that teased because every time Korra reached the tops of Asami's ribs, she could feel the fabric of her bra warn her against it. She wanted to keep going. She tried. Every time she reached the top of Asami's stomach, she told herself to do it, but that bra felt like a barrier she wasn't sure she could cross, no matter how fast or earnest the cadence of Asami's chest was against hers.

Nor had she thought it was obvious that she wanted it so badly, but after another minute of trying to work up the courage, one of Asami's hands left her neck. It landed over Korra's outside the shirt, and it moved her hand upward. It slid her hand over a breast and pressed with consent, with an earnest plea for attention. Korra's stomach lurched with need. She gave the lightest squeeze to test exactly what Asami wanted, and in response to it, Asami throbbed in her grip, pressing harder into her hand as if to say _yes_. As if to say _more_.

Korra gave more. With the hard, excited breath she released against Asami's lips, her hand began to explore. It rounded the curve at the bottom of Asami's breast and massaged on its journey back up. Her fingers dipped along the swell at the center of Asami's chest, and the next time she massaged her hand into the plump flesh, her thumb made a deliberate graze across the center. It caused Asami to draw in a sharp breath, and Korra got bold enough to slip her fingers up beneath the base of the bra. She gripped gently against bare skin, purposefully pinching the hardened nipple between two fingers as she did, and drinking in the soft hum Asami released against her lips.

That hum made her willing to give anything so this wouldn't stop. So many times she'd worried they were moving too fast, or worried that it would mess this up, but not now. She didn't care. She'd give and do and say anything to feel more of those vibrations against her tongue. To earn more of those sounds, and to feel even more of Asami's smooth skin, and to let her mouth follow her hands' exploration. And to give her mouth what it wanted, Korra's hands wandered back down to the hem of Asami's shirt, and this time she took hold of it. Even more, Asami's arms lifted readily, and she parted from the kiss just long enough for Korra to pull the long-sleeved shirt over her head and toss it to the floor.

Korra didn't get a chance to return her hands to Asami's torso once the shirt was gone. Asami grabbed her hips and spun them around, but they missed the table and stumbled past it until Korra's shoulders hit the wall. She didn't care that it knocked some of the breath out of her, because all at once Asami was pushing up against her, and as those full red lips lowered to her neck, Asami grabbed her wrists and slid them upward, holding them against the wall above her head so her body was open for contact.

"I love it when you do that," Korra breathed, letting her head fall sideways to allow Asami's lips unhindered access.

"What?" Asami huffed amusedly into her skin. "Almost knock us over?"

Korra hummed her consent when teeth scraped against her neck just enough to tease. "My hands," she corrected. "You're the master at playing it cool," her eyes fluttered when Asami's tongue followed the trail of her teeth, "but when you do that, it feels like you _really_ want me."

Asami froze, and then left Korra's neck to look her in the eyes. She didn't remove her hands, she didn't put any space between them, but there was a crease in her brow for a long span of seconds while she studied Korra's face. "Korra," Asami sighed softly, setting her forehead against Korra's, "You make me so nervous." She leaned in further for a kiss, hesitating so that their lips brushed as she murmured, "I _do_ really want you." Her tongue ran over Korra's bottom lip, and when she took it gently between her teeth, it sent a hard pulse of lust down Korra's core. " _God_ , you have _no_ idea."

Korra nudged forward, planting one delicate kiss to the corner of Asami's mouth before whispering confidently, "Show me."

Asami held her gaze, scanning her for one short moment to make sure, and then Korra's head met the wall because Asami's lips met hers so eagerly. There wasn't the fraction of a second before Asami's hands had dropped to her waist, and at once both her sweater and her shirt were pulled over her head and thrown aside. Her clothes hit the floor, but once more Asami froze. She leaned back and her green eyes ran up and down Korra's torso, taking in all the exposed skin, everything that wasn't covered by her sports bra. Korra could _see_ the want, and she didn't want Asami to hold back a single ounce of it.

"God, you have no idea," Asami repeated, and hands and lips met Korra's flesh at the same time, hands at her stomach and lips back on her neck.

It was such a relief, but being able to feel that Asami had _finally_ let go caused Korra's restraint to snap. The desire she'd been trying to keep under control got away from her, and it burned in her lungs every time she gulped a breath because Asami's hands found somewhere new and sensitive. It strained in the fingers tangled in Asami's hair every time her tongue pressed into her neck. Knotted in her stomach every time their hips met. She _ached_ for more, and it wasn't just the begging rush of her heartbeat. It was the hammering pulse between her legs.

In one fluid motion, Korra directed Asami's lips to her own and pushed her back to the table. She sat Asami at the very edge of it and planted herself firm between her legs, and the rhythm of their hips fell into rhythm with their breathing. It wasn't the friction Korra wanted, wasn't what she was to the point of desperately needing, but she'd take any friction she could get. Especially because Asami's hands finally clutched at her back. Every time Korra ground forward with her hips, the fingers at her lower back stopped their journey downward to grasp with need. And they didn't stop until they'd dropped all the way past Korra's waist, and with the next push of Korra's hips, Asami grabbed her backside.

Korra let out an involuntarily low hum, surprised at just how much she liked the firm grip. She'd already been so impatient for more, but it caused her hands to slide up Asami's back, and her lips left Asami's mouth to skim up her jawline. Her mouth reached Asami's ear at the same time her fingers reached the clasp of her bra. The grip on her backside tightened in response to the undoing of the clasp, and as Korra took an earlobe between her lips, Asami let out her first soft moan. And _fuck_ , that _sound_. It went straight to Korra's lap. She clenched at its overwhelmingly provocative tone, and even though she wanted so badly to hear more of it, to hear _her own name_ in it, her own need was getting painful. She was throbbing with want, and every time Asami's hips rolled against hers, she could feel the stutter of her heartbeat echo between her legs. She slid Asami's bra down her arms and added it to the growing pile on the floor, and it took everything in her not to groan with relief when Asami reached for the button of her jeans.

"Blanket," Korra panted, putting just enough space between them for Asami to slide off the edge of the table.

But once Asami did, she turned them around. "It's too far," she breathed. Her hands worked the zipper of Korra's pants as their lips met, and she pushed forward so much that Korra had to shove everything off the table and fall onto her back.

Asami's lips left hers, and Korra could do nothing but stare as she watched Asami's mouth trail down her chest. She was so entranced with watching each open-mouthed peck meet her flesh that she barely registered following the wordless prompt for her to lift her hips. Not until she felt cool air against the immense moisture between her thighs did she realize that Asami had slid her pants down to her boots. And her need was _so_ great, she was _so_ _desperate_ for a touch that one knee bent out pleadingly. But Asami's lips landed again at her ribs, and lower beside her naval. Once more between her hips, and Korra held her breath, silently begging for the next one to land where she needed it.

It didn't. Asami's lips skipped down to plant a hot kiss to the inside of her thigh, and the breath Korra had been holding escaped in a broken, "Don't." Don't tease. Don't hesitate. _Fuck,_ don't do anything but make that painful need disappear. That's what Korra meant. It's what she thought and it's what she felt and it's what she wanted.

But Asami glanced up, a glimmer of concern in her eyes. "Don't?"

The heels of Korra's hands pressed into her brow at the vexation of the halt. She needed it so badly she could hardly breathe. "No _, do_ ," she begged desperately, squeezing her eyes shut so Asami couldn't see the pained lust. "Please, do. God, Asami, _please_."

She wasn't looking, and a part of her expected Asami to pick up those teasing pecks everywhere but where she needed it, but Asami's mouth came _exactly_ where she needed. The flat of her tongue touched down low and made one long, slow stroke up Korra's center. It circled that sensitive point of nerves and dipped back down, and Korra clenched _so_ damn _hard_ with relief that her back arched off the table, and her hands left her face to shoot down for Asami's head.

The moment she realized Asami _was_ still teasing, a cry escaped her throat. Asami's tongue slid halfway back up and dropped before offering even a hint of relief, and then made a toying nudge against Korra's entrance. Korra's fingers tangled in Asami's hair, and she tried so hard to keep from forcing her head where she wanted it, but she couldn't control the fact that her hips angled downward, pleading for the touch to reach its final destination. However, in response to the movement of her hips, Asami's tongue left completely, and she planted such a chaste kiss where Korra needed _real_ pressure.

"Asami," Korra whimpered, and she lifted her head to meet the green eyes between her legs, fully prepared to beg if she had to.

Only, that look must've been all Asami was waiting for, because no sooner had they locked gazes than her lips sealed around Korra's clit. Asami's name escaped Korra's throat again on loud moan as she threw her head back, finally getting the friction and pressure that she craved.

She tried to hold still. Tried to make it easy for Asami to be precise, but her need had grown too strong, and she was _so_ sensitive. She was writhing, repeatedly running her fingers through Asami's gorgeous black hair as she rocked her hips to follow every stroke of that tongue. That glorious, hot, slick tongue. _Asami's_ tongue, that learned so easily exactly how strong to push within the pull of her lips, exactly how fast and how broad and exactly where. Though Korra tried _so_ hard not to lose control of her body, Asami didn't seem to care if she did. Because while one of her hands made soothing caresses up and down Korra's thigh, the other grasped at her hip. It pushed and pulled, guiding Korra's rocking in the exact rhythm of her tongue, so that instead of contrasting, it made everything smooth.

It made everything perfect, and as that near agonizing sensitivity faded, Korra calmed. She stopped writhing out of pure desperation for release, and began to follow the motion of the guiding hand at her hip because, when she did, it left her mind clear. It let her focus on the blissful tension building beneath Asami's mouth, on the tightening muscles between her hips and on the pooling heat in her core. It was building fast. _So_ fast. The more she tried not to think about it, about the fact that it was Asami between her thighs, with those full red lips and her smooth tongue, _tasting_ her, the more impossible it became not to.

She lifted her head once more, fully intending to tell Asami just how close she was getting. Only, when her eyes met Asami's, she caught the pleased smirk in their glimmer of green, and she wasn't close. She was coming. That look did her in and her hips lifted off the table as the arc of her back locked, and she froze for hardly a moment before she was writhing all over again. She was a heaving mess of raw moans and jagged breaths, so lost in pure ecstasy that she couldn't even comprehend the rhythm of the hand at her hip anymore. She felt both of Asami's hands clutch at her hips, holding as firmly as possible so she wouldn't lose position, so the pressure of her tongue could keep coaxing Korra through climax as long as she could.

Korra would've loved for the pulsing beneath Asami's tongue to last forever, but all too soon, it ended. She regained control of her lungs and her hips and her body, and she removed her hands from Asami's hair and settled back onto the table, panting for the air that had been stolen from her. After another moment, Asami's mouth left. She planted one kiss at the apex of Korra's thigh before her chin settled against Korra's stomach.

Korra glanced down, catching the pleased smile as Asami stared up at her, and she let out a bashfully breathless chuckle. "Hi," she said amusedly, reaching down to cup Asami's face.

"Hi." Asami turned her head to press a kiss to Korra's palm. "You okay?"

"Good," Korra answered, sighing her intense relief. " _So good_."

All the desire and release had left her body exhausted and drowsy, but despite that, she still wasn't satisfied. She wouldn't be until she made Asami feel the way she'd just felt. So she eased up, and Asami straightened away from her so she could sit at the edge of the table. Her hands set on Asami's waist, and for a moment as she sat there, she couldn't help just staring. Asami was _gorgeous_. Her heavy snow pants hung low across her hips, and her long black hair was falling over her bare chest and _god,_ those _curves_.

With the gentle guidance of her hands, Korra left the table and turned them around so Asami could take her seat on it. But Asami didn't just rest at the edge. She sat with her knees apart so Korra could stand between them, she leaned back on her hands to leave herself open for contact, and she stared up at Korra with the kind of look to make her heart stop. It was affection, and invitation, and expectation without impatience. And Korra had always been so unable to tell with certainty the effect she had on Asami, but now she could see it. The desire, the _plea_ , and for a moment she'd swear she could see something deeper. Some heavy emotion in that calming emerald that made her heart race all over again.

Korra leaned forward to meet Asami's silent invitation, and as her lips opened against the tender flesh beneath Asami's ear, a receptive hand slid up her bare back, up her neck and into her hair. She didn't wait to reach down for the button of Asami's pants; she was too impatient. The fingers that were tangled in her hair and the way she could already hear Asami's breathing picking up made her too eager. Though what she wanted more than anything was to savor, to taste in the same way Asami had tasted her, there was so much skin between that spot beneath Asami's ear and Korra's hands that her mouth hadn't gotten to enjoy. She couldn't bring herself to skip it all, but she was still so impatient to touch that she couldn't even bring herself to take the extra moments to remove any final clothing. Right after she had the button undone, her hand slid down the front of Asami's pants, and her mouth dipped to her neck.

The second her hand slipped between Asami's legs, her ears picked up a groan. It only took her a moment to realize that the noise had come from her own throat. It was drawn out of her when she met the wanton silk between Asami's thighs, when she realized _exactly_ how wet Asami was, and the groan accompanied the strong beat of excitement that barreled down Korra's chest. That beat reached its destination between her own legs and she couldn't help that her mouth clamped down hard on Asami's neck. She bit into her pulse point at the same moment one of her fingers pressed through soaked flesh into that hardened point of nerves, and Asami let out a soft gasp as her hips throbbed against it.

That sound reminded Korra of how much she'd loved the very first one, and fuck, she wanted more. Even more than that, she wanted the source of all the moisture against her finger, and she knew exactly how to get everything she wanted at once. She pushed forward with her lips, guiding Asami onto her back as her finger dropped lower, and the moment Asami had lain down, Korra drove that finger deep into her core. Asami bucked, taking in a sharp breath that, as Korra pushed into her a second time, was released in a low mixture of moan and sigh. It was like music to Korra's ears. Her mouth felt it go through Asami's throat, and the sound echoed in her chest and in her stomach and in the residual thrum of pleasure between her legs, and all she could think was _more_. She had to have more of Asami in her ears and against her and around her.

As Korra eased in again, she did it with an upward pressure, so that her finger stroked hard against Asami's rough front wall. It made Asami's chest swell with a stunted breath, and fingers clutched instantly in Korra's hair and calves wrapped around the back of her thighs. It pulled Korra's legs flush against the edge of the table, pressing her hips hard into Asami's so that her hand was trapped between them and she no longer had the space to thrust with it. So Korra rocked her hips instead, using them as leverage to push deeper with each forward sway. She picked up a steady rhythm while her lips wandered away from Asami's neck toward her collarbone, feeling Asami's hips roll to match her tempo and savoring the next sweet moan that met her ears.

Asami felt _so good_. The way she moved beneath her hips. The way her chest beat with each hard breath and the slight salt Korra could taste on her skin. How silky and wet and _hot_ she was around Korra's finger. Korra could feel her tighten at the end of every upward angled thrust, but each one was still so effortless. Asami was _so_ open to her, and she was panting and letting out the occasional moan, but it still wasn't enough. In between the next push of her hips, Korra lined up a second finger at Asami's entrance, and when she rocked forward again, both met clinging heat. And Korra _felt_ it, felt Asami's body clench around the new width with overwhelming reception.

" _Korra_ ," Asami breathed, and the lusty brokenness of her name set off a deeply physical reaction in Korra.

She hummed her approval against Asami's skin as she dragged open lips down her chest. The watering of her mouth led her straight to the peak of a breast, and at first she tested by pressing a warm, open kiss. Asami's breath hitched as the fingers in Korra's hair stiffened with expectation, and it was all the permission Korra needed. She circled the hardened nipple once with her tongue before sealing the heat of her lips around it. This time, the moan Asami let out was loud, it was full of need and she rocked harder than she had yet. She thrust up as deeply as she could over Korra's fingers as the hand in Korra's hair gripped, and she kept doing it _every_ time their hips met. With each rough pass of Korra's tongue or pull of her lips, and every strong thrust of her hips, Asami's movements and voice got more jagged. She fell out of rhythm and cadence and _this_ was the desperation Korra wanted.

The next time Korra's name left Asami's lips, it was little more than a whine, full of frenzied urgency, and she finished in a whimpered, " _I'm so close_." But Korra could hear in the plea what Asami needed, could hear that even though this had taken her so far, it wouldn't finish her.

Korra's hips stopped their rhythm immediately, and she pulled out to slip her hand upward, to circle a finger around the swollen point of Asami's clit. The arc of Asami's back left the table as a shuddered moan escaped her throat, and Korra was filled with the sudden and irresistible need to taste each sound. She kissed away from Asami's breast, up her chest and neck, glad that her desire was recognized. Asami was too tall for Korra to reach her lips from this position, so her shoulders lifted as she half sat up, just enough to meet Korra's mouth for the kiss that she craved. Korra had to set her free hand against the surface of the table to hold them up, but with the way Asami started clinging to her, she didn't care.

The hand in her hair was twitching with pleasure. Asami's other hand had grasped at Korra's back to keep herself upright, and the tips of her fingers were pressed deep into Korra's skin. She was so breathless that Korra could hardly keep kissing her, but she still felt the vibrations of every stimulated moan and sigh against her lips and tongue. The sounds tasted like bliss. They tasted like a stirring mix of immeasurable need and lipstick, and Korra could still taste a hint of herself in them and all she could think was _yes_. Because it was _her_ on Asami's lips, _her_ between Asami's legs and _she_ was the one Asami wanted. Asami was smart and funny and successful and the most beautiful woman Korra had ever seen. She could have _anyone_ she wanted, but she wanted _Korra,_ and Korra could feel it and hear it and _taste_ it.

After only a few moments more, Asami's hands left her head and back for her face. She cupped Korra's cheeks and leaned their foreheads together, and the legs wrapped around Korra's waist pulled hard. It trapped Korra against her as she reached the peak, and her eyes slammed shut as her body stiffened. One long, hard shudder went through her, and Korra watched her come completely undone. She panted euphoric gasps into Korra's mouth as her chest rose in a staccato of tense, broken breaths. Her lips hung open with the desperation for air and the sound of the release, and she was trying to seal their lips in a kiss but was entirely unable because every hard pulse of the climax rolled hard down her body. Every one traveled through her like a wave, fluctuating her distance from Korra's lips and fueling each heavy beat against Korra's finger. And Korra kept moving that finger between Asami's legs in a slow throb, drawing out as many of those powerful beats as Asami would give her.

After the height of it ended, Asami's body tensed with one last quake, and then she let go of Korra's face and fell backward so heavily that her head thumped against the table. Korra watched her chest rise and fall to catch some breath as she pulled her hand out of her jeans. The position they'd been in had left her wrist sore, so she shook it out at her side, glimpsing the remaining shimmer of silk on her finger. She'd wanted so badly to know what Asami tasted like, but had been so lost in her lust that she hadn't gotten the chance. Now curiosity got the best of her, and she raised that finger to her mouth, closing her lips around it and letting her tongue run over the pad.

Asami had lifted her head and glanced up just in time to see Korra pull her finger out of her mouth, and her lips curled with a smile at how lidded Asami's eyes were. "Holy shit," Asami sighed, dropping her head back with another thump.

Korra's smile widened, and she bent over Asami's stretched out body to press a kiss between her hips. The next time her lips landed, it was on the opposite side, and she left a string of soft, affectionate pecks along Asami's abdomen while waiting for her to recover. Eventually, a gentle hand ran through Korra's hair, prompting her to cease the kissing and look up. Korra straightened, offering a hand and pulling Asami upright to sit at the edge of the table again.

Once Korra was standing comfortably between Asami's legs, she set her hands on Asami's hips and leaned in for a real kiss, and it was so much deeper than she expected it to be. Asami was still weak with pleasure, so her lips were slow and yielding to every slight movement Korra made. Korra got another taste of herself still on Asami's lips, and Asami's tongue brushed against hers as arms slipped around her neck, and she felt her hips push forward with the start of renewed desire. She just couldn't get enough.

She pulled away, because as much as she'd have loved to start this over again, to keep starting it again and again _all_ night, they couldn't stay here forever. Still, she was so reluctant to remove herself completely that she set her forehead against Asami's. Then she remembered the fire and the blanket, and laughed timidly, "I swear I didn't plan this."

Asami smiled amusedly, cupping her face and running a tender thumb over her cheek. "I was kind of hoping you did."

Korra's cheeks shaded, but she shrugged playfully. "I mean… it _did_ cross my mind."

Asami giggled, sliding her arms back around Korra's neck and dropping her head forward against Korra's shoulder with a content sigh. "I'm so sleepy now."

"Don't fall asleep on me yet," Korra chuckled, but the only response was a tired hum against her shoulder. "Hey," she prompted gently, earning another muffled noise. She smirked, and without warning, dug her fingers into Asami's ribs.

Asami shrieked with laughter, jerking backward and trying to wriggle away from her fingers. "Korra!" she laughed, managing to catch the invading hands and stop the assault. But as she held Korra's hands, her laughter died off, and her bright green eyes fell along Korra's torso. She stared like that for a long minute, eyes dropping along her stomach to the exposed flesh between her legs. Despite the fact that Korra's cheeks were tinting bashfully, she let Asami keep staring, because she loved the adoration in her gaze. "Korra…" Asami said eventually, letting go of her hands to reach out and trace the lines of her abs. Korra hummed curiously. "…You're hot." Asami laughed to herself before adding, "And I'm completely sober now. You're just really, really hot."

And Korra loved that Asami was saying it sober. Loved that she'd pushed past whatever barrier kept her from saying it before, or from being assertive about what she wanted physically, or from saying and doing what she really wanted just because she was afraid Korra didn't like her enough. Korra _did_ like her enough. _Way_ more than enough.

When Korra didn't say anything in response, Asami finally glanced up at her, and at seeing that she was content just to let her look, she let out a whine and dropped her head against Korra's chest. "Do we _have_ to leave?"

Korra's arms wrapped around her to squeeze her in a hard, giddy hug. "Yeah," she answered in apologetic amusement. "But we can cuddle for the rest of the night once we get back."

"We can sleep together?" Asami asked, eyes wide with hopeful surprise.

Korra hummed an affirmative. "My dad even put your bag in my room."

Asami's lips curled in a content smile that vaguely reminded Korra of the drunken smirk from the bowling alley. "I'm not so opposed to leaving anymore…"

Korra laughed, pressing an amused kiss to Asami's lips, but once she did, she got the irresistible urge to kiss along her jaw. Down her neck. Across her shoulder. She couldn't stop, and Asami's head had slumped to the side in silent permission, which made it even harder for her to resist. It was _so_ _easy_ to get carried away.

She planted one last indulgent kiss at the base of Asami's neck, and then groaned her reluctance for it to end. When she felt Asami's shoulders shake with a chuckle, she couldn't help but laugh at herself. "Okay," she said with weak resolve, holding her hands out to either side as if that would help. "Okay."

Working up the will to pull away, Korra took a couple steps back, putting enough space between them for her to reach down and pull her pants back up, and Asami slipped off the table too to retrieve her discarded clothes. Korra buttoned her jeans, but before getting her shirt and sweater, she reached down to pick up all the stuff they'd shoved off the table. It was just a few maps and that staff with the collapsible wings, but she caught the curious look on Asami's face as she put it back on the table the same way they'd found it.

"Feels wrong to leave it scattered," she explained, straightening the maps so they were perfectly centered.

As she did, one of them caught her eye. She'd never been curious enough to look at anything like this on her previous visits, but now she set her hands on either side to bend over it and get a better look. It was a map of the South Pole, with Harbor City and the compound they were at now. It was something nearby that made her study the map, though – something that wasn't on any of the modern maps. It was a random patch of drawn trees, at the center of which was some big, round symbol. The circle was bright compared to the dark trees around it, trees that Korra had never known were there and was still having a hard time believing existed. What was a forest, even a small one like that, doing in the middle of the South's icy tundra?

A pair of arms slid around her bare waist, and Asami leaned into her from behind, setting a chin on her shoulder to look down over it. "What are you doing?" Asami asked.

Korra's eyes squinted to read the title beside the symbol. "Whoa." She pointed on the map to show Asami. "Look, it says that was a spirit portal." Not many people even knew where the spirit portals were anymore – not since they'd been closed and taken off the maps.

Asami edged sideways to lean around Korra's shoulder and get a closer look. "That's pretty cool."

"It's pretty close," Korra added, looking at Asami and raising her eyebrows expectantly. Asami stared back at her, and though she clearly knew what Korra was suggesting, she didn't say anything. "Want to try and find it?"

"I thought we had to be back at your house," Asami said, unfolding her arms from Korra's waist and leaning back against the table.

"We have _some_ time…"

Asami squinted at her skeptically, but she knew Asami was adventurous enough to be just as interested, if not more so, given how naturally curious she was. "Is it safe?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Korra shrugged. "It's been closed for like… a couple hundred years."

Closed ever since the Equalists succeeded in taking everyone's bending away. That's what Korra learned in history class, anyway. Some old terrorists called the Equalists had created a chi-blocking super toxin that took away people's bending for good. Without bending, they got scared of spirits, and Varrick wasn't just infamous because of his own success. His great great grandfather had invented a device with spirit vines, and harnessed their energy to close the spirit portals.

Something about that caused Asami to take a close look around the tower they were in, as if seeing it for the first time. "Was it _that_ Avatar that lived here?"

 _That_ Avatar. The _last_ Avatar. The only reason the Equalists succeeded was because the Avatar wasn't around anymore. A group called the Red Lotus had ended the cycle and killed government leaders, leaving the world vulnerable to chaos. In the midst of that chaos, the Equalists rose, and without the Avatar to stop them, had made the chi-blocker so powerful that the deficit was passed through generations. At first, people tried to get their bending back. They sought spirits and monks and tried things like acupuncture and meditation, but no one was successful. It had been a long time since people stopped trying. It had been a long time since people stopped caring.

"Yeah, I think," Korra confirmed. "A waterbender." She traced the round symbol of the portal with her finger. "So…?"

There was such a mischievous smirk on Asami's lips that it reached her eyes as she said willingly, "Okay."

Korra nearly squealed as she grabbed Asami in an excited hug. After putting her shirt and sweater back on, she used her cell phone to snap a quick picture of the map and then gathered the blanket. It took everything she had not to drag Asami back down the stairs of the tower. Naga was outside, waiting where they'd left her, so they both climbed on and started in the direction the map had specified. It was way too dark out to have used the map for any kind of guidance, but Korra knew which direction they needed to go. Despite having cell phones and GPS, one of the perks of growing up in the Southern Water Tribe around the ocean and fishermen was that she'd learned to navigate with the stars. Granted, it took them a bit longer to get to the forest than Korra would've predicted, given the size of the map. Before long, however, they reached the start of the woods.

Naga slowed down when they got there. The trees were thick and it was even darker with their stature blocking out what little light the moon provided. While the trees also provided a barrier against the wind they'd faced on the tundra, Korra still felt a shiver go up her spine. It wasn't so much that the woods were creepy, but she could feel their age and importance in the air. This forest held that sacred aura like being in a graveyard – there were no spirits left in the natural world, but it was as though Korra could feel the remnants of their presence. They were definitely in the right place.

Without a consistent view of the stars to guide them, Korra relied on Naga's ability to take them in a straight line, hoping the spirit portal was as centered in the forest as the map made it seem. It felt like they wandered for miles and miles within the wood, but just when Korra began to doubt the map, a soft glow could be seen shining through the trees. She drew in an excited breath, feeling the hold Asami had on her waist tighten with equal anticipation. And then they were there, past the final trees and in the center of a small clearing, at the center of which was the portal. It was a large dome of glowing energy. A pale blue that looked as cold as the snow beneath them.

"Wow," Korra muttered under her breath, bringing Naga to a halt. She slid off to the ground below, Asami doing the same. "It's pretty," she mused as she strode forward, hearing the crunch of Asami's footsteps follow after her.

She walked to the portal, and then around it, circling slowly and leaning in to get a better look, entranced by its inky swirls of blues. She only got halfway around the dome before she stopped and straightened away. Instinct made her glance at her back, toward the wood behind her. She felt like she was being watched, and it wasn't the same lingering presence of long gone spirits. It was a genuine sense of paranoia.

Before that feeling could sink in and become truly disturbing, Asami said happily from the opposite side, "It's warm."

Korra wandered around to the other side, where Asami had her palm flat against the closed portal. "You seriously touched it," she laughed in shock, because she wasn't even sure if she'd have been brave enough to touch it first.

Asami nodded with an intrigued smile. "It's like…" She paused thoughtfully, running her hand down the side and then removing it. "I don't know how to describe it."

There was no way Korra wouldn't experience it for herself. She lifted her hand and set it where Asami's had been. It _was_ warm, not ice cold like she might have expected, and she could see why Asami couldn't describe it. It was electric. Like a purring static just waiting for an excuse to burst. But after a few moments of having her hand there, Korra felt something beginning to shift. That static increased. The hum of the energy beneath her hand sped up. It was _reacting_ to her, but she couldn't pull away.

Just as that thought occurred to her, something sharp shot up her arm, past her shoulder and deep into her chest. Her head snapped back as she gasped, and that shocked breath didn't even get a chance to ease the jolt of her lungs before it all ceased. She lowered her jaw to look at Asami, to say or ask something, but Asami wasn't there. Korra wasn't standing outside the closed portal. She was facing the portal in a massive, round field, with spirals of trees around her. A panic rose in her chest, and she spun around to try and see if _anything_ looked familiar. Her eyes met a towering white figure. It was ghostly, with a series of blue markings down the front of it, and though it didn't have eyes, somehow she knew it was looking at her. There was another ghostly figure too, beyond the white one and trapped in the hollow of a large tree. Where the white figure's markings were a calm blue, however, this trapped black one's were a dark red.

Korra returned her focus to the white figure. A spirit. It looked right back at her, and in a large, kind voice, it said with every timbre of surprise, "It's _you_."

A hand set on Korra's shoulder from behind. It startled her, and she whirled around to meet the eyes of hundreds of other people, and though she'd never met or seen any of them before, she knew each and every one. Her past lives. And with that knowledge came another. She spun back around to meet the looming white spirit, feeling an involuntary but comforted smile on her lips. "Raava." She didn't know how she knew that name, or why it felt like she was meeting an old friend after countless years apart, but in spite of herself, she murmured happily, "I missed you."

In the blink of an eye, Raava had flashed forward and collided with her chest. Her eyes filled with a blinding white light, and she hadn't even realized the air in the field was warm until she felt the harsh cold of Southern air on her cheeks again. The very moment the white faded from her eyes and she saw that she was back in front of Asami with her hand on the dome, and massive energetic pulse exploded up and out of the portal. That pale blue light surged straight into the sky as another shot outward, hitting both her and Asami with so much force they were thrown backward. Korra hit the snow hard, all the breath had been knocked out of her and she felt woozy and weak, but she watched the pulse of energy keep going and going, until it disappeared in the trees and on the horizon.

"Korra?" Asami's voice called worriedly. "Korra!" Asami dropped down at her side, but her voice sounded so distant.

Even further away, Korra could hear shouts. For a moment as her eyes grew blurry, she thought it was in her head. But they continued as Asami lifted one of her arms around her shoulders, helping her to her feet. "It's her!" "She's here!" "She's come!" And then a man was there, and he reached for Korra and tried to rip her away from Asami, shouting, "Hand her over!"

Asami let her go to grab the man's arm and twist it behind his back, but Korra was so weak she fell to her face in the snow. She watched Asami elbow the man hard between the shoulder blades and send him sprawling to the ground, and no sooner than she had, another guy rammed her in the back. It sent her careening forward, but despite the rage in Korra's chest, she couldn't find the strength to rise. Her head was a thick cloud of confusion and thrumming energy, and her chest hurt so badly that she could hardly breathe.

Just after the man hit Asami, Naga sprinted over and rose on two legs behind him, swiping with a massive front paw and sending him flying. She turned to a handful of other assailants that neared, letting out a roar so powerful and full of rage that every one of them briefly hesitated. It lasted long enough for Asami to recover and grasp down for Korra.

"Naga!" Asami called, carrying Korra over. Korra reached up for Naga's saddle, doing everything in her power to pull herself up. "Come on, Korra," Asami pleaded.

Korra ignored the splitting pain in her chest and the white spots blurring her vision, and mustered every last bit of strength she had in her. With Asami's frantic help, she managed to climb up, and groaned her exhausted defeat as she collapsed forward over Naga's shoulders.

Asami jumped into the saddle behind her, yelling "GO!" as she scooped under Korra's armpits.

As Naga took off, Asami kept Korra up as best she could, holding Korra to her chest with one hand while the other gripped a handle of Naga's saddle. Korra could hear faint shouts sound up behind them, along with the guttural rev of starting snowmobile engines. She tried to say something, but all that left her lips was an incoherent mess of mumbling. She didn't even know what she was trying to say. She was too weak to speak, too weak to hold herself up. Too weak to even keep her eyes open. The last thing she saw through the blur in her vision was that they'd burst out of the forest onto the tundra, and then everything went black.


	7. Chapter 7

_***_ _So I'm just gonna leave this chapter here and take cover, cuz I have no idea how you guys are gonna react. I just hope reading it is as intense for you guys to read as it was for me to write._

 _Have a happy weekend! I'll try to update sometime next week._

… _.._

Korra woke with a start. She wasn't on Naga's back and in Asami's arms, and all that registered at first was the bright light of whatever room she was in. It was too bright for her eyes to adjust after so long in the dark of unconsciousness, and she squinted through the blinding pain as she sat up. She thought they'd been caught. Thought Naga hadn't been able to outrun the snowmobiles and she and Asami were in danger. Her heart was racing, and she was in such an instantly blind panic that she didn't know what to do.

"Asami!" she shouted desperately, shooting to her feet and furiously rubbing her eyes to try and get them to adjust faster. A pair of arms circled her shoulders, startling her in her frenzy so that she jerked.

"Hey," Asami's voice said soothingly. "It's okay." Her arms tightened around Korra's neck, pulling her into a comforting hug. "We're safe."

Korra squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them again, and as she curled her arms around Asami's waist, her vision finally started adjusting. She was in the living room at her home. She'd been lying on the couch and, even though it was so bright, it was only the overhead lights in the house. Outside the window she could see that it was still dark out, still night. Her mom was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, watching worriedly while Naga was curled up in the corner, and Korra wondered just how long it had been since the spirit portal. She closed her eyes again and buried her face in Asami's neck, taking in a deep breath of her reassuring scent.

"What happened?" she asked, releasing Asami from the hug. "Where's Dad?"

While Senna strode to the large window, Asami explained, "Those people only chased us to the city limits, but…" She hesitated, looking over Korra worriedly for a moment before continuing. "They kept yelling to give them the Avatar."

"I'm the…" she murmured, unable to finish as she glanced down at her hands, as if they held all the information she was so desperately trying to wrap her head around.

What she hadn't realized until glancing at her hands was that they were shaking. She didn't know what any of this was supposed to mean, or why those people had been after her, or what they were doing at the portal in the first place. What about bending? She couldn't bend, and how could she be the Avatar if she couldn't? But what about Raava? There was a new sense of power Korra could feel surging beneath the surface of her flesh. It was in her blood and muscles and skin, coursing through her veins. But _what was it for_? She couldn't use it, didn't know how to access that power or Raava or her past lives.

"Mom?" Korra prompted, because for the last minute Senna had simply been staring out the window. Did her mom believe it? Was it not just some wild figment of her and Asami's imaginations?

"Come here," Senna said, motioning gently. "Look." Korra strode over to the window, allowing her mom to adjust her stance so she was looking out it in the right direction, and what she saw made her blink with disbelief. "You opened it."

The spirit portal. Korra had looked out this window before. She'd stared past the city at the long barrenness of snow, but it wasn't barren anymore. From where the portal was, a bright beam stretching from the earth to the sky. Even more, there were ribbons of pale green light extending for miles around the beam. And for that moment when she saw it, she wasn't thinking about the fact that the portals had been closed because people feared spirits. She wasn't thinking about the dangers of it being open if people couldn't bend. Those lights were unlike anything she'd ever seen. They were patterned and bright and _beautiful_ , and they were there because _she'd_ opened the spirit portal.

"Where's dad?" she asked again, wondering why he wasn't here. It wouldn't have been like him to leave in the midst of something like this.

"He had to go meet the council," Senna answered, a small smile reaching her lips. "They got calls about a few people waterbending."

Korra's eyebrows lifted to her hairline. "Bending?" she choked in disbelief. And she was so emotional about the lights, and now the bending, that she couldn't help it that tears flooded her eyes. "I brought bending back?"

"Maybe," Senna answered softly, turning away from the window and giving Korra a warm hug. "Let me go find your father. I'll tell him you're awake."

Senna disappeared to find Tonraq, and Korra was still so astonished that she couldn't bring herself to leave the window. It didn't feel real. No matter how many times she'd heard stories about the Avatar and spirits, and how true it was that people used to bend the elements, it was such a distant past that they'd never felt like more than fairytales. It was overwhelming, and through the emotion and the anxiousness, there was a constant buzz of excitement in her stomach.

"Korra," Asami said from behind her, and when she turned, Asami extended a hot ceramic mug. "I made you some tea."

"Thank you," she smiled gratefully.

Korra reached out for the cup, but her hands were still trembling, and when she went to grab it, it slipped through her fingers. Out of instinct, she reached out to catch it. It was already well beyond her reach, but when she motioned for it, the cup froze in mid air. It halted halfway to the ground and just hovered there. At the back of her mind, Korra knew she was doing this, but it was such a shock that it didn't register. She just stared at the floating cup of tea, unable to think or move.

"Whoa," Asami murmured, and her voice broke Korra out of the trance.

Korra jerked back, and the conscious recognition of the fact that she was earthbending interrupted her control. The cup dropped the remaining distance, smashing to pieces on the hard floor and spilling tea everywhere.

"I'm sorry, sorry, sorry," Korra muttered worriedly, throwing her hands to her head. Normally she'd have reacted calmly about it, but all the scattered emotion she was feeling left her instantly guilty, because Asami had gone through all the effort to make her tea and she'd just spilled it and broken her parents cup. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, Korra," Asami said gently, reaching up for her hands. "Hey, it's okay, there's more tea."

Korra sniffled, feeling an escaped tear slide down her cheek. "I don't know what's happening," she whispered in a soggy voice, trying to focus on one of the many emotions whirling about her head. "I don't know how to feel." She glanced toward the window. "The lights and the portal and the bending. _I'm_ bending and I might be the Avatar and we got attacked and it put you in danger and I don't know what to do."

"It's okay," Asami said again, letting go of Korra's hands to cup her face, and a careful thumb whisked away the moisture on her cheek. "I'm okay, and you're okay. Everything is going to be fine. We'll figure it all out."

Korra took in a deep, calming breath, and the air and the fact that Asami was touching her, grounding her, put everything into perspective, and she gave a teary chuckle with embarrassment at the fact that she'd just almost cried over a spilled cup of tea. "You weren't hurt?" she asked.

"No," Asami answered, leaning in to kiss her forehead. "Go sit down, I'll clean this up."

Korra smiled thankfully and trudged over to the couch, but once she got there, she sprawled out on it lengthwise, throwing an arm over her eyes to block out the light. What stressed her out more than anything was that she didn't know what to do now. If people here were starting to get their bending back, what about people all over the rest of the world? And if she was the Avatar, wasn't she supposed to _do_ something? That's what the Avatars were for, right? For bringing peace and balance and for helping people. Only, she couldn't do anything because she had no idea what to do. She didn't even know what was going on, and someone out there was after her and she didn't know why. And what about the rest of the world? Would they know the Avatar was back? What would they expect from her? What could she possibly do?

After a minute, Korra felt a weight between her knees, and then Asami was stretched out and lying on top of her, head on her chest. "You okay?" Asami asked, wedging her arms beneath Korra's shoulders. All Korra could do was let out a heavy sigh, because she honestly didn't know how to answer that. "I'm just going to say it," Asami said without lifting her head, "I'm going to address the elephant in the room." Korra's eyebrows furrowed curiously, unsure what Asami meant. Until she said, "I'm totally dating the Avatar."

Korra laughed, grateful that Asami could stay lighthearted about this whole thing, but not even her playfulness could hide the truth. "Yeah," Korra said sarcastically, "The Avatar who has no clue what she's doing." While Asami pushed up to look at her, she let out another sigh. "Did we make a huge mistake going to that portal? What if by opening it, and bringing bending back, I just threw the world out of balance?"

"I don't think the world _has been_ in balance," Asami said seriously. "There is no middle class in Ba Sing Se anymore, and the gap between upper and lower is devastating. The Fire Nation's been fighting about leaders for hundreds of years. The air nomads won't leave the air temples. Even the water tribes almost got into a civil war before your dad and uncle worked things out." Asami shrugged, finishing with deep sincerity, "If you're worried about if the world needs the Avatar, don't be. It does."

"When you say it like that," Korra mumbled, "It sounds like a huge job."

Asami offered a small smile. "Then it's a good thing you're not alone."

The very first, unfiltered thought Korra had at hearing that was, _I am so in love with you_ , and for a moment afterward, she just lay there, staring up into Asami's bright green eyes. "Asami…" she prompted with the words at the tip of her tongue. She didn't know if it was too soon to say it, or even if now, with all this Avatar stuff happening, was the right time. Even the fact that Asami might not feel the same way yet was a little bit terrifying. However, now that she'd thought it, she couldn't keep the words out of her mind.

There was such a long pause that Asami asked curiously, "What?"

Korra licked her lips, and then swallowed down the suddenly nervous lump in her throat. "I love you." And Asami's eyebrows rose, and she blinked at Korra, and the length of silence between them wasn't even long enough for her to gather breath for words, but Korra got even more nervous. "I _really_ love you," she bumbled. "Like… God, I love you a _lot_. I wish I had some big cheesy speech or something to tell you exactly how much, but I just… words don't fit."

"Korra," Asami giggled, planting a quick peck to her lips. "I love you too." Her mouth was pursed to hold back an amused smile. "And I know exactly what you mean."

Korra wouldn't have been able to contain her grin even if she tried. Her teeth set and her cheeks pulled taut with the width of it. "You do?"

Asami hummed with confirmation. "I kind of fell in love with you the night you brought coffee to the garage at Future Industries."

"Our first date…" Korra said in disbelief.

"Yeah," Asami said, cheeks shading a faint tint of pink. "Every sweet, cute, hot thing you did since then just made me want to scream… in a good way."

Korra laughed, still not entirely willing to believe she had that powerful of an effect on Asami. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I didn't want to rush you, so I kind of just," Asami shrugged, "Let you set the pace." Then she chuckled to herself and asked, "Can I be honest, though?" Korra nodded. "I'm so glad you got bold tonight, because the wait for it has been near torture."

"Sex?" Korra clarified, snorting with laughter when Asami nodded. "You know you could have seduced me a long time ago, right?"

"Oh, trust me, I know," Asami said confidently, making both of them laugh. "But I didn't want to seduce you. I wanted you to be as ready as I was."

Korra reached up, thumbing the light bruise on Asami's neck and saying teasingly, "Nice hickey, by the way."

"Yeah," she agreed sarcastically, "Your parents thought so too."

Korra snorted again, feeling her face burn with a blush. "What did they say?"

"They didn't say anything," Asami answered. "But I know they saw it."

"Awkward," Korra murmured playfully, stretching upward to plant an apologetic kiss to the mark. Once her lips set on it, however, she couldn't bring herself to pull away. Asami was so soft and she just _smelled so good_. "Maybe," she drawled, pressing a more open kiss to it, "I'll just make it a bit darker…" Her mouth brushed the bruise, opening and preparing to clamp down. "Since it's already pretty visible."

Before she could seal her lips on the mark, a hand set on her shoulder, pushing her back down while Asami lifted up another inch. "You're trying pretty hard to get me in trouble with them," she scolded, even though she was smiling and Korra could see the amusement in her eyes.

"If anything, _I'd_ get in trouble," Korra chuckled. She slipped her hands beneath Asami's shirt, running them as seductively as she could up her bare waist to try and coax Asami into at least making out a little… She needed a distraction from all the stress, and Asami had been doing a good job so far of calming her down. "That hickey had to come from somewhere."

"Look at you, getting brave," Asami said teasingly. "We have sex one time and you think you can get it whenever you want."

Korra's eye widened at the accusation, and her cheeks colored with a deep, dark blush. "Sorry," she said sincerely, pulling her hands out from under Asami's shirt and deliberately tugging the hem down to cover her hips. And she was so embarrassed that she didn't know what to say. What kind of excuse was valid for thinking she could touch Asami any way she wanted just because they had sex once? So, instead, she said again, "Sorry."

"Oh my god, Korra," Asami laughed amusedly, "If you get any cuter, I might die." She dipped down to press a playful peck to Korra's lips. "I was joking." Her lips skimmed along Korra's cheek to her ear, where Asami whispered flirtatiously, "You _can_ get it. _Whenever_ you want."

Korra's cheeks were already burning, but the hot feeling of Asami's breath on her ear and the implications of her words caused Korra to flush. _Whenever_ she wanted. Which felt like an added implication of _wherever_ , and Korra couldn't help a wanton flash of all the different places she could imagine doing what they'd done tonight. The thoughts caused the deep heat in her face to spread down her neck and chest, and she was so stirred by it that her hands twitched on Asami's hips with eager impulses.

She didn't get a chance to act on them before Asami jerked away from her with a shocked shout of, "ow!"

As Asami's sudden movement caused her to topple off the couch, Korra sat up on instinct and went to help her, but she stopped short at that sight of a ball of fire in her hand. "Oh shit," she blurted. A spark of fear that she'd be burned made her shake her hand out frantically at her side, but that only sent the flame shooting toward the ground. It landed on the tile and stayed there, burning into the floor. "Shit, shit, shit." Korra stomped repeatedly on the floor while she clenched her fist, hoping both of those actions would kill the fires. "Stop," she urged the fire, stomping madly, "go out, go out." She managed to douse the flame on the floor and get rid of the one in her hand, and immediately turned toward Asami, who was just pushing herself off the ground. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

"I think so," Asami answered, reaching her feet and pulling up the bottom of her shirt to look at her hip. "Scared me more than it hurt." No burn marks in her skin, and Korra let out a loud sigh of relief. "Well, there's the firebending."

Korra winced, and as it shifted to an awkwardly embarrassed smile, she offered, "…it's what you do to me?"

Asami gave a soft laugh and a roll of her eyes, and then tossed a concerned look at the scorched floor. "Can you control it?"

Korra hummed, held out her hand, and willed that flame to come back. Nothing. So she clenched her fist, throwing it open again and hoping that would work. Still, nothing. "Alright…" She closed her eyes, trying to relax as she took in a long breath, filling her lungs as deeply as she could. As she released that breath slowly, she focused on letting it fuel the energy and power that she could feel inside her, on letting it travel down her arm and into her palm. A gentle heat rose against her fingertips, and she opened her eyes to see the steady flame in her hand. "I did it!" Asami beamed at her, and now that she knew what it felt like and how to do it, she proceeded to let the flame die and revive it a handful of times.

While she did that, both of her parents returned, striding into the living room. "Hey," her mom said happily, "you're firebending!"

Korra and Asami both made guilty glances to the charring on the floor, and Tonraq mumbled sarcastically, "Nice."

He looked stressed. His heavy brow was sunk and his long mouth angled in a frown. Asami must have noticed it too, because she took a step toward the kitchen and asked, "Can I make everyone some tea?"

Each of them nodded, and while Asami disappeared into the kitchen, where she was still within hearing distance, Tonraq slumped onto one of the couches. Senna sat down next him.

"Dad?" Korra prompted, sitting on the couch across the short table from her parents. "What's happening out there?"

"Waterbenders are popping up all over the tribe," he answered, leaning forward to set his elbows on his knees. "But people are scared. If law enforcement can't keep everyone calm, I might have to leave again."

"Are…" Korra swallowed, an uneasy feeling in her stomach. "Are people getting hurt? Should I be out there? Should I try to do something?"

"So far, no one's been seriously hurt," Tonraq answered, shaking his head and forcing a small smile to try and ease her concern. "I want you to stay here, where it's safe." Asami came in with a small tray of full cups, setting them down on the table. "Thanks, Asami."

Asami nodded and took a seat next to Korra, who reached out for a cup as she asked, "Do we know anything about those people at the portal? Who are they? What do they want with me?" She glanced back and forth between her mom and dad. "Are they the same people who tried to take me when I was little?"

"Did you see what they were wearing?" Tonraq asked. "Colors, symbols, anything?"

Korra began to shake her head because she'd been too out of it to notice, but Asami said, "Blue." She leaned forward earnestly. "They were all wearing a deep blue uniform, with a flower on their backs."

Tonraq nodded in recognition, took a deep breath, and said as he let it out, "The Blue Lotus." He stared down between his knees for a moment and then stood. "They're the same people," he confirmed as he strode to the window. There, he reached up to lean his forearm against the sill, and let out another heavy sigh. "When you almost got taken as a kid, I went into your room that night because I felt like something was wrong. There was a man standing over you, and three more people in the room. They were all wearing what Asami described."

He dropped his arm from the windowsill and turned around to lean back against it. "The man had his hands on your head," he continued, "and they were glowing. I called for guards, and we managed to fight them off, but they tried to take you. And the people with that man, Korra… they were bending."

"Bending?" Korra repeated in shock, setting her teacup back on the table. "But that was years ago."

Tonraq's chin dropped with agreement. "After the fact, I sought out the air nomads." He strode forward to the couch, but instead of sitting, he stood before it and folded his arms across his chest. "They're more connected to the old world than anyone else, I thought they'd know something about what happened."

"And?" Korra prompted earnestly.

"He was energybending," Tonraq answered. "It's an ancient form of bending, and _so_ rare. When the Equalists attacked all those years ago, whoever formed the Blue Lotus must have avoided the chi-blocker, or taught themselves how to energybend afterward."

"What do you mean?" Korra asked. "He restored his people's bending?"

"And handed the skill down generations of leaders," Tonraq added.

"Did any of them bend when we were there, or chasing us?" Korra wondered in disbelief, glancing at Asami.

"No," Asami answered, shaking her head. "But that doesn't mean they couldn't. Maybe they didn't want to hurt you." They were all quiet for a minute, thinking, before Asami asked curiously, "Is that how they found Korra, and knew she was the Avatar? The energybending?"

"No, that's another skill," Tonraq answered, but as he did, Korra was only half-listening. There was another thought forming at the back of her mind, one that made her instinctively upset. "If you know what you're looking for, by connecting to the energy in the earth, you can search for someone. Everything's connected. I can't imagine how long it took them to find the Avatar, but eventually they did."

"Wait," Korra said, ignoring this new information and returning to that thought. "Did you know? Did you know that I was the Avatar?"

Tonraq watched her for a thoughtful moment before saying, " _potential_ Avatar."

"You knew?" she muttered, feeling anger boil in her stomach. "Are you freaking kidding me?" And she stood to meet her dad more at eye level. "How come you never told me?"

"What's the point, Korra?" Tonraq challenged. "I didn't think it was important."

"That's such crap and you know it," she growled in frustration. Her entire life she'd been lied to. She'd always thought they didn't know why someone tried to kidnap her, when this whole time her father knew that she was capable of so much more. "If it wasn't important then why not tell me?" she demanded. "You didn't think for one second I couldn't have done some good by knowing?"

"No," Tonraq answered. "What could you do without bending? The Blue Lotus tried to kidnap you. I didn't want you seeking this out and getting hurt."

"That's not your choice to make!" Korra shouted in exasperation. "And clearly I could have done something without the bending, like, I don't know, give _everyone_ their bending back."

"Lower your voice," Tonraq said lowly.

"No!" she hollered angrily. "You lied to me!" She was so frustrated, felt so betrayed that she couldn't calm down. She couldn't understand why he'd keep this from her. "And what about the Blue Lotus? Maybe they wanted to give me my bending back in the first place. Maybe they had a good reason for trying to find the Avatar."

"What good reason?" Tonraq questioned loudly, deep voice escalating in volume. "If they had good intentions, why wouldn't they come to the door? I know you don't honestly believe they weren't going to hurt you."

"I don't know what to believe," Korra spat. "How do I even know if you're telling me everything right now?"

"Korra," Asami interrupted in a cautious whisper, setting her hand on Korra's arm.

Korra straightened out of her aggressive stance to see what Asami wanted, but Asami didn't say anything. She was glancing around the room, indicating that Korra should look too. So she did, and the surprise of what she saw made her anger fade completely. Every bit of water in the room was floating. The water in the various vases her mom kept around, the water from their teacups, the water from Naga's drinking bowl. It was all hovering near the ceiling, vibrating in tight whirls.

Korra tried to relinquish her control of the fluid, but she didn't have any control to give up. "I'm not doing that," she murmured, glancing at her father. He looked around at the hovering water, and as he let out a deep sigh, all the liquid dropped back down. And just because Korra couldn't resist getting the last word in their argument, she muttered sarcastically under her breath, "You're welcome."

Tonraq shook his head, reaching up to press his fingers against his eyes. "I'm sorry, okay?" he said softly, dropping his hand. "I thought I was protecting you. If I'd known what you could do for everyone, I would've given you a choice."

Before Korra could accept the apology, the house phone started ringing. Senna rose to answer it, and then motioned for Tonraq because the call was for him. They all waited quietly while he spoke to whoever was on the other end, and eventually he hung up and turned toward them.

"Spirits have been spotted on the outskirts of the city," he said, striding to the archway and grabbing his coat off the rack. "People are starting to panic. It's getting bad, I need to get out there."

"Let us come," Korra suggested, pacing halfway to him. "We can help."

"No, stay with your mom." Tonraq continued to the elevator and put his hand to the scanner to call for it. "It's safer for you here."

"Dad, come on," Korra protested.

"Please, Korra," he said tiredly, stepping onto the lift. "For me. Try to get some sleep." He hit the button for the doors to close.

"Dad!" Korra called after him, but the doors were already shut.

She turned back toward Asami and Senna with a frustrated groan, but her mom shot her a look that told her to calm down. There was no way she was getting out of the house right this moment, and she knew it. What she wanted more than anything was to help, because maybe if people knew it wasn't just the bending, maybe if they knew the Avatar was back too, it would help comfort them. Not that she even knew what to do as the Avatar, but maybe people's expectations would help her figure it out. But she couldn't help if she couldn't get out, and to get out she needed everyone to stop watching her. Well… she needed her mom to stop watching her. So she trudged over to the couch and plopped down, deliberately lying across the length of it and putting her head in Asami's lap. She could pretend she was getting tired.

"Um," Asami murmured, glancing from down at Korra to Senna, and then back down. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she breathed, with just enough frustration to make it seem like she wasn't plotting. "I'll get over it." For a minute after that, she could just feel her mom watching her suspiciously, but then Senna wandered into the kitchen and grabbed some cleaning supplies, bringing them back out to scrub at the burn marks on the floor. "Asami," Korra prompted, needing a distraction so she wouldn't get too impatient. "Can you bend?"

Asami looked down at her and set to gently running fingers along her scalp. "I don't know," she answered. "I don't feel any different. Do you?"

Korra hummed the affirmative, and even though she loved the way Asami's fingers were running through her hair, she couldn't allow herself to legitimately relax. "I feel stronger," she murmured. "But that's probably the Avatar stuff."

Asami nodded her understanding, and then said, "I wonder how Mako and Bolin are doing. Or if anything's happening in Republic City."

It was too late in the night now to find out from Mako and Bolin if anything was going on, so Korra said in agreement, "We can call them in the morning."

Truthfully, either of them could check their cellphones for news, or even turn on the TV that her parents rarely used in the living room. As curious as Korra was to know, there was another part of her that didn't want to. _She'd_ opened the portal and brought bending back, and she was already worried enough about the results it was having on the Southern Water Tribe. The last thing she needed to stress about was the kind of ill effects it might be having on the rest of the world.

For the next handful of minutes, Korra lay there tensely, enjoying Asami's gentle massage but still anxiously listening to the sounds of what her mother was doing nearby. Eventually, Senna said, "I'm going to get some rest," and strode toward the archway. "You girls should do the same. Don't worry about your father, Korra, he'll be okay."

"Night, Mom," Korra replied, offering the most innocent smile she could. Senna left the living room and traversed the hall to her bedroom, and the moment Korra heard the door close, she shot upright. "Come on," she told Asami, bolting off the couch and calling for Naga to come too. Though it was with earnestness that she led the way out into the hall and toward the elevator, she was a little bit surprised that Asami followed her readily. "Really?" she asked, turning back to Asami before calling for the lift. "No protest?"

"You're clearly going with or without me," Asami pointed out, pulling on her winter coat. "And I'll be damned if it's without me."

Korra grinned her eager appreciation and pressed her palm to the scanner, but after a moment, the entire thing glared red, flashing big block letters that said 'access denied.' "Are you serious?" Korra grumbled. "My dad locked me out of the elevator." She stood there for a moment before glancing down the hall and suggesting anxiously, "Emergency stairs."

They bolted down the hall toward the stairs, throwing open the access door only to be met by the knowing looks of two of the palace guards. "Evening, ma'am," one of them greeted innocently, but then he deliberately said into his earpiece, "Eyes on Korra, eastern stairwell."

It was a clear warning for her not to try getting around them, because if she and Asami managed to get by and out the access door, someone would be looking for them. Korra didn't even try to play it off like she wasn't attempting to leave, because she clearly was, and the guards clearly knew that. Instead of saying anything, she simply shot them both a glare and threw the door closed, turning on her heels to head back down the hall.

"So annoying," she complained. "I just want to help."

"Your dad knows you well," Asami said with a hint of amusement.

They reached the archway and the elevator, and before going back into the living room, Korra glanced at the elevator panel. Then she looked at Asami, asking hopefully, "Can you hack it?"

Asami's gaze went from Korra to the panel, studying it for a long moment as though pondering its intricacies. "Sorry," she answered with an apologetic wince. "I'm a mechanical engineer, not a computer engineer, and that's high tech."

Korra's eyes narrowed at the stupid stubborn elevator scanner, but then her brow rose with an idea. She turned toward the closest water source in the living room and motioned to it, and though she hadn't even tried waterbending yet, it came so natural to her that the liquid instantly obeyed. She gestured it to her, and, focusing all her will into her hands, clumsily shaped the water into a frozen shard. Then she took aim. "I'll just break it."

"Whoa, okay, Korra," Asami said hastily, grabbing her hands to stop her from shooting the sharp ice straight into the panel. "Maybe it's time to have a little faith that your dad has this under control."

Korra released the ice, and it shattered on the floor as she let out a defeated sigh. "I _need_ to see, Asami," she muttered desperately, feeling a rise of tense emotion. "I caused this, and I need to see if it's good or bad. I can't just stay cooped up in here while people are scared and hurt." She met Asami's gaze, allowing her to see that it wasn't that she didn't think her dad was capable. It was because of an innate worry that teetered on the edge of severe guilt, and the only way to ease her conscience was to know for sure. "I have to know… I have to do something."

Asami didn't say anything for a long span of moments, and Korra knew that she was taking it in, and taking it seriously. "I don't know if I can hack the scanner," she said, eyes falling on the panel, "but the least I could do is try." Korra beamed instantly, and planted a severely grateful kiss to Asami's cheek. "You got a screwdriver?" Asami asked, bending down to get a closer look at the scanner.

"Yeah, one sec." Korra hurried into the living room and to the closet, where her parents kept various things for taking care of the house.

She threw it open and reached into a toolbox on the bottom shelf, and as she felt around for a screwdriver, there was a soft thunk behind her. It had come from the window, and she glanced back to check if Naga was behaving, because sometimes she got a little restless, and when she wanted to go outside she'd always stare out the window to let them know. Only, Naga was still curled up in the opposite corner of the living room, nose tucked under a hind leg and so deep in sleep that she was practically snoring. But Korra knew she'd heard something. She hadn't just imagined it.

Eyebrows furrowed curiously, she briefly abandoned her search for the screwdriver and shut the closet. Maybe it was a seabird or some other critter. Her dad had even mentioned that spirits had been spotted near the city; maybe one of them was attracted by the size of the palace. On her tiptoes, Korra crept across the living room toward the window, but for some reason, she stopped a foot away, refusing to cross the final distance. Something was wrong. She felt it in her gut. Knew it by the blaring alarms in her head telling her not to keep going, but to step back.

Then there was a movement in her peripherals. Her head snapped in the direction of the kitchen, eyes locking onto a man in blue the very moment another flash of movement, a woman, hurdled through the window.

"Asa-!"

Boots colliding with her chest cut the yell off short, hitting her so hard she tumbled backward. As Korra crashed onto her back, she watched another man vault through the window at the same time that Naga sprang up from her spot on the floor, letting out a furious roar that would preface an attack. The man rolled through the window and onto his knees, raising a weapon to his lips and blowing, sending a dart straight into Naga's chest. Korra recovered from the blow, rising to her feet as Asami sprinted into the room. Three more people jumped into the house, and as whatever toxins in that dart caused Naga to fall unconscious, it left Korra and Asami outnumbered, three to one.

For a long, tense moment, nothing happened. Korra and Asami stared down the Blue Lotus members, and the assailants stared right back. Then the oldest one, a man in his seventies with long white hair, said calmly, "Avatar Korra."

Korra instantly lit a threatening ball of fire in her palm. She didn't know how to fight with bending, but she'd figure it out. Only, the moment she did, all of the attackers, except for the oldest one, prepared their own bending. Two of them pulled water from flasks at their waists to circle it around their torsos, one swirled a hurricane of air between her hands, another woman copied Korra's fire in both palms, and the final guy sent his massive fist into the wall, cracking a chunk of brick from it and bringing it to hover before him.

"Come peacefully," the eldest said softly, glancing amongst his benders, "they've had practice."

Korra's eyes narrowed as she glared at him. She didn't like him, and she didn't like the fact that his tone posed a polite request, while his words framed a demand. The Blue Lotus was clearly intent on taking her whether she wanted to go or not, and whatever they wanted with her, she wouldn't go willingly.

"Korra?" called a worried voice, and Korra heard her mother's footsteps stop behind them.

Senna gasped with surprise, and as Korra turned, she saw her mother whirl around to try and hit the emergency alarm on the elevator scanner. One of the waterbenders instantly threw a stream that froze Senna up to the neck the moment before her hand hit the panel, and whatever peaceful, nonviolent resolution they might have reached before was off the table. On sheer protective instinct, Korra hurled the fire in her palm at the bender who'd trapped her mom, and she and Asami both sprang forward into action.

Asami ran toward the airbender, dodging blasts of air while Korra sprinted at the waterbenders. Asami reached the woman, ducking another punch of wind by leaning and planting her hands on the ground. From there, she stretched her leg up and spun, kicking the woman's arm out of the way while she turned back onto her feet, where she shoved her palms hard into the woman's chest.

While the woman went stumbling backward into the wall, Korra hurdled another large flame at the waterbenders. They dodged, both simultaneously heaving streams of water at her. She couldn't avoid two at once, and instead of managing to duck either one, they both caught her in the shoulders. It didn't matter that it was only water. The blasts hit her so hard that they felt like bricks crashing into her, and it wasn't a hit that ended on collision. The streams followed through, pitching her halfway across the room and then ending so that she rolled backwards until she hit the wall.

As Korra struggled to her feet, she saw Asami dodge a heated punch from the firebender, but the airbender was recovering from the shove. The woman rolled a whirling ball of air between her hands as she rose, and she regained her footing while Asami was distracted deflecting a fiery kick. Korra opened her mouth to shout for Asami to watch out, but her vision caught movement, and on instinct, she threw her arms up to block her face. As a heavy piece of brick shattered across her forearms, Asami got pelted in the back by a powerful gust that thrust her right into the firebender's fist.

The earthbender chucked another piece of rock at Korra, and because she was momentarily distracted with her arms at her face, it hit her in the stomach. She coughed on the air it knocked out of her, but watched the large man smash another chunk of brick from the wall. This time, when he hurled it at her, she punched into it, splitting the rock in two and immediately grasping the larger piece with her earthbending. She used all the strength she could get out of her torso, shoulders, and legs as she vaulted forward, imitating the movement of catapulting the boulder across the room.

The rock went sailing, and she was smart enough to have aimed at a waterbender who couldn't stop it. It hit the bender hard in the chest, but as he was thrown backward, the other sent a blast of water at her. Korra was acting on pure instinct, and whatever primal intuition in her body that knew what it was doing made it feel like such a fluid transition from earthbending to waterbending. She caught that stream of water, redirecting its momentum around her body and then sending it right back across the room.

It hit the earthbender in the legs, sweeping them out from under him, but Korra didn't see that he'd already thrown another rock until it was too late. The brick hit her in the forehead so hard that it knocked her backward, causing her to hit the back of her head on the wall. She dropped to her knees as her vision trembled, but immediately vaulted up when, through the blur, she saw that Asami was in trouble. The firebender had taken her down, and was holding her to the floor with one hand with his other raised above his head, fist surrounded with flame and preparing to hit her hard.

Korra earthbent the nearest rock as she hurdled forward to her feet, crossing the room and flinging it at the firebender just before he could strike. It hit him in the chest and knocked him backward off of Asami, and Korra dodged a blast of water as she sprinted at the airbender. But she wouldn't make it. The airbender saw her coming, and the other three had recovered from her blows. Before she reached the airbender, she jumped, leading with her feet and completely unsure of exactly what she was trying to do. As she shot through the air, a boulder sailed over her head, and another blast of water missed her. The airbender raised her hands to prepare an attack, but she didn't get a chance before an explosive draft of air left Korra's feet. The air was so powerful that it hit the airbender and sent her careening backward, smashing into the wall so hard it knocked her out. It was so powerful it even changed Korra's direction, and she flew headfirst a couple feet before hitting the ground.

Korra didn't wait to scramble up. All she could think was that she had to dodge whatever was thrown at her so she could get to the emergency alarm, because they couldn't last in this fight. No sooner had she reached her feet and turned for the elevator, there was the large crack of splitting brick, and the earthbender gathered enough rock to box in her entire body. It surrounded her, trapping her arms at her sides and squeezing so tight it was hard to breathe. Her eyes met her mom's, and she could see the fear and the frustration and the helplessness in their wild blue. Senna was _so_ close. Another inch and she'd have been there.

"Avatar Korra," said the elder man's voice from behind her, and it got closer as he said, "I am pleased." He strode around so he could look at her, offering a small smile. "You learn fast. You'll make a great Avatar."

She squinted at that. 'You'll make.' Future tense. "So you're not trying to kill me?"

He clicked his tongue with disappointment. "It's a shame our failed attempt at contact when you were child left you all rather… suspicious."

"You tried to kidnap me," Korra accused, straining her eyes sideways to see if Asami was okay, but she couldn't catch a glimpse. "Asami?"

"Yeah," Asami murmured, but then there was a thump and Asami made a pained noise, as though someone had pushed her. "I'm fine," she said with fierce defiance.

Korra jerked angrily in her restraints, yelling at the benders behind her, "Don't touch her!" One of them had the gall to laugh, and Korra growled as she pushed uselessly at the rock.

"Okay, Korra," the old man said gently. "We got off on the wrong foot. I'm Shaozu." He paused to give her a chance to accept his introduction, but all she did was glare. "We've been waiting a long time for the return of the Avatar. In fact, we've tried bringing about that return for generations."

"Why?" Korra asked, glancing past him at her mother, glad that Senna was straining against the ice, still trying to reach the panic button.

"The world needs the Avatar," Shaozu answered. "The world needs balance."

"Great," she started sarcastically, "just let me out and I'll do the Avatar thing and the world will be peachy."

He smiled his overly friendly smile. "You're spirited. I like that."

"Yeah," Korra agreed, "I'll make a great Avatar… soon as you guys let me out and leave."

"When the Red Lotus ended the Avatar cycle over two hundred years ago," Shaozu began, ignoring her request, "They wanted anarchy. They thought the natural order was disorder. But they were wrong, Korra. Do you know why?" He watched her closely, waiting for her to answer, and since she clearly wasn't getting out, she hummed curiously. "Because the natural order is balance. A complementary blend of order and disorder."

"Okay…" Korra muttered, stealing another glance at her mother. Senna wasn't getting any closer.

"Light and dark, good and bad, order and disorder," he continued, "these are accepted as opposites, but their dichotomy is a figment of comprehension. They are as whole and inseparable as you are from yourself."

"Uh huh, balance," Korra agreed to appease him. "What does that have to do with me?"

"An unbalanced Avatar cannot succeed in bringing balance to the world," Shaozu answered. "The last Avatar failed because she was incomplete."

Korra's eyebrows ascended impatiently, and she asked with deliberate slowness, " _What_ do you _want_ from _me_?"

Shaozu inhaled a deep breath, letting it out slowly as though he might be growing as impatient as Korra was. He didn't show it though, and offered another smile. "It would be easier to show you."

"Yeah…" Korra drawled, looking at her mother again. "No."

Senna's eyes were closed, and at first Korra wasn't sure exactly why, or what she was trying to do. Then she realized her mother was focusing, so intently that the edges of ice around her neck were starting to melt. She was waterbending, and Korra silently pleaded with her to hurry.

"I'm sorry, Korra," Shaozu breathed, reaching into his pocket and materializing a full syringe. "There's no more time to explain."

The very moment Shaozu plunged the needle of the syringe into Korra's neck, Senna managed to turn the ice around her into a puddle, and her hand slammed down on the alarm. Korra felt hot liquid surge into her veins, and it was so powerful that she felt the weight of it in her brain almost instantly. The alarm sounded, blaring so deafeningly loud that, with the haze of the drug in Korra's mind, it made her woozy. Her neck couldn't support the weight of her head, and it slumped to the side as the stone around her lifted, picking her up with it. She was already too gone to fight, and she passed out as she was being hauled out the broken window.

"Friends."

It was the first word Korra could make out through the fog when she started coming to her senses. It was shaky, quivering in her ears, and she couldn't even open her eyes, but she recognized the voice as Shaozu's.

"Our ancestors formed The Blue Lotus…"

Sound cut out, and Korra was so drowsy that she couldn't focus on too many things at once. She told herself to breathe, and held that oxygen in her lungs for fear that she'd forget to inhale again if she let it out.

"Today, we achieve _true_ balance."

Korra could hardly feel her limbs being jostled as she was moved, but the equilibrium in her head was off balance. It made her dizzy. She forced her eyes open as much as she could, cracking them to a slit as she was set on her knees. Someone earthbent a stone table in front of her, and when whoever had put her on her knees let her go, she collapsed forward against it, resting her upper body on it to keep upright.

The place she was in was familiar, though she'd only seen it once. The drugged blur in her eyes only allowed her to see what was straight ahead, but she recognized the massive tree. Recognized the large, eye-shaped hollow and the black spirit trapped inside of it.

"Blue Lotus," Shaozu called from behind her, and a bright yellow light shot past her, colliding with the barrier that was keeping the spirit inside the tree. "Free Vaatu of his prison." The rest of The Blue Lotus joined Shaozu's energybending with each of their own, directing all of it at the hollow of the tree. "And bring balance to the spirit of the Avatar."

Korra tried desperately to keep her eyes open, but the drug weighed heavy in her veins, and clouded her mind so that all she registered were glimpses of the benders' combined energy, and flashes of the building light at the hollow of the tree. An explosion sounded in her ears, but all she felt was the echo of deep tremors in her brain. Her eyes cracked open again, and she was too weak to react to seeing the dark spirit emerge from the tree. Too drowsy to feel fear that it was coming right for her. She didn't feel anything until she felt the pain.

Vaatu smashed into her, knocking her back away from the stone to leave her exposed. Then he collided into her chest with a force like she'd never known. It nearly knocked her unconscious again, and she might've succumbed to the darkness if she wasn't panicking. She couldn't breathe, and though she tried to fight it, to keep the spirit from fusing with her, through the haze in her mind she was almost glad she was too weak to put up much of a fight. Because even without resisting, her chest felt like it would explode. It felt like her lungs were already as full of air as they could get, but someone kept forcing her to take in more. There was so much of it that she was suffocating, and her heart was racing at a hundred miles an hour. Every beat sent a stabbing pain through her chest and flashed a deep, glowing red in front of her eyes.

"Raava," Korra croaked weakly, so drowsy and in so much agony that she welcomed the darkness she could feel closing in on her. "Help me."

There was no answer from the spirit she already shared a fusion with, and as the red and the pain finally disappeared deep within her chest, so did everything else.

Korra woke again with a hard gasp, taking in such a deep breath of ice-cold air that she choked on it. It hurt, and she rolled onto her stomach in the snow to cough up the burning cold in her lungs.

"Korra!" came a distant shout. A deep, familiar voice. Her dad.

"I'm," she tried to yell, but had to take in a panting breath. "I'm here!"

She rolled onto her back, meeting the bright light of the spirit portal to her left. Everything hurt. She was sore, and her head was heavy, and despite the weight still in veins, her heart was still pounding fast. The last thing she could remember was her mom smashing the panic button. She didn't know how long ago that had been. Or how The Blue Lotus had got her to the spirit portal. Or why.

"Korra!" Asami yelled, bursting out of the trees around the portal. She ran over, sliding to her knees in the snow and leaning over Korra's chest. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Korra?"

"I'm sore," Korra groaned, and with Asami's help, she managed to sit up. Asami didn't look to be in the best shape either. Her right cheek was a wounded red, her bottom lip was split, and surely she was aching and bruised in places Korra couldn't see. "I'm going to kill them," she growled, eyes running over Asami's injuries that were visible. As the threat left her mouth, it was accompanied by a burning fury in her chest, and her fist clenched so hard at her side that her nails dug into her palm.

"It's okay," Asami said gently, and when she cupped Korra's face with her soft, warm hands, it snapped her out of her gratuitous anger. "I'm just glad you're safe."

"Korra," Senna panted, breathing from the run as she, Tonraq, and a large handful of law enforcement reached them. "Are you okay? God, we were so worried."

"I'm okay, Mom," Korra answered, and as Asami helped her to her feet, for some reason the sight of her father made her frustrated. Their argument was long over, but she could feel a bile of resentment in her gut.

"What happened?" Tonraq asked in concern. Noticing that Korra was out here without her jacket, he shrugged his off and extended it to her.

She declined with a wave of her hand. Truthfully, she was cold. She was _freezing_ , but she didn't want _his_ jacket. "I don't remember," she answered.

"They just let you go?" he asked in disbelief.

Though his question was one of shock rather than suspicion, Korra repeated impatiently, " _I don't remember_."

Her father watched her for a moment in surprise at her impatience, studying her closely. She could feel her mom and Asami's eyes on her too, and it made her severely uncomfortable. "Are you sure you're okay?" Tonraq asked.

"I said I'm fine!" she snapped. "For fuck's sake!"

But the moment the words left her mouth, she regretted it. She didn't know why she'd said it, or why she felt so angry with him or angry in general. He was concerned about her, and rightfully so. All he wanted was to make sure she was fine, and she'd forgiven him for lying to her all these years and she didn't know why she felt so mad.

"I'm sorry," she said immediately, fury fading to guilt. "I-" And she was confused. She'd never talked to him like that. Never talked to anyone like that, and now the three of them were blinking at her like they couldn't believe it and she was _so confused_. "I, um… I think I'm tired. I'm sorry."

"Come on," Tonraq said, voice full of nothing but love as he draped his jacket over her shoulders. "Let's get you home."

With Asami at her side, Korra followed her parents and the cops back to where they'd parked their snowmobiles. But she felt anything but comforted. More confusing than the anger, or her outburst, was the fact that even though she was safe, and warming up, her heartbeat was still out of control. There was an instinctive feeling in her chest of anxiety, and panic, and chaos. It felt wrong to every conscious corner of her mind. It felt foreign, and terrifying, and she didn't know what was causing it. At the same time, however, in some deep, dark place within her that she couldn't locate, she loved that feeling just as much as it terrified her, so that she couldn't figure out if her heart was racing out of fear or excitement. There was something else in her… something that was so delighted by the idea of chaos that her lips curled with a smirk.


	8. Chapter 8

*** MILD TRIGGER WARNING: Toward the end of the chapter, Asami and Korra start makin out, and Asami doesn't like the way it's going down, and Korra's an asshole about it. There's NOT any physical or sexual violence, but Korra being a jerk in this situation might be uncomfortable to read, so I just wanted to throw it out there.

Side note: *possible spoiler alert? idk not really* my beta reader wanted to know why Vaatu is having such an easy time taking over, and I can't really explain it within the story because Korra has no idea what's really happening, so for those of you who get curious about the technicalities, here's what I told her: Vaatu is basically winning the internal battle with Raava over Korra because of the fundamental differences in the way he and Raava operate. Raava is content to fuse with Korra and let Korra remain herself, but like we saw with Unalaq, Vaatu gets in and completely takes over. In my mind, that makes him a fierce competitor for control right out of the gate, which is why Korra has such a hard time this chapter (especially cuz she doesn't know what's goin on).

Good? Good. Read on :)

...

Korra's sleep was restless. There were no nightmares or dreams or visions, just a constant feeling of dread. Dread and the unending repetition of her name. Two different voices calling out to her, one of which she recognized as Raava, and each time Raava said her name, it was desperate. It was frightened and seeking and vulnerable, as if calling for help. The other voice, deeper and louder, it was taunting. Both sounded as though they wanted her to come, but the deeper voice contained the unmistakable edge of victory, like Korra had already gone to it. Gone over some deep, dark edge toward that unmistakably powerful voice, and Raava was begging her to come back.

And she wanted to go back, and though her sleep was dark, it didn't feel like sleep at all. She wanted Raava. She wanted peace from that jeering, chilling voice. But she couldn't get away. Couldn't bring herself to leave that fear behind because it made her feel more alive than she ever had in her life. She was torn. Stuck in her own skin with the conflict, and she couldn't take it anymore. In her unconscious tossing and turning, all she could hope to do to find some relief was leave her skin behind. She could burn it all away, and she could feel the sweet relief of heat already, opening her pores to rid her of the tension.

"Korra!"

All she wanted was to be free of the voices.

"KORRA!"

It wasn't one of the normal two voices. It was Asami, and that realization pierced through her unconsciousness. Her eyes shot open and she bolted upright, and everything was red and hot and bright. Fire. She'd lit the bed on fire, and she was still lying in the middle of it and was surrounded by flames. But she couldn't stop it. The tension she'd been feeling in her sleep was still there, and it was building and she was suffocating in the fire around her and the lack of breath was making her panic.

"Korra!" Asami yelled worriedly, and Korra met her gaze from beyond the flames.

Asami was standing as close as she could get, and she was _too_ close. Korra could feel the pressure in her about to snap and Asami was way too goddamn close. "Get out!" Korra shouted over the roar of the fire, but her voice wasn't all hers. It was tainted by the deeper one from her sleep, and the red in her vision wasn't flickering in time with the flames. Rather, it was flickering with the beat of her racing heart, so that she began to think that the glowing red was coming from _her_. And she was trying so hard to stop the fire and the building pressure under every inch of her skin, but she couldn't contain it. She could feel how close she was to losing control and she didn't know what would happen.

"Stop the fire!" Asami yelled to her.

"Please, Asami," Korra called through gritted teeth, "Get out!" She wasn't leaving fast enough. Korra was about to break and Asami was too close. "Extinguisher!"

At that, Asami turned and bolted out the door, and the very second she was gone, Korra lost what little control she had. Every lick of flame in the entire room was sucked into her, and she wasn't sure if she gasped because she absorbed the fire or if she absorbed the fire because she gasped, but the heat filled her beyond what she could bear. She curled into herself, feeling all the overwhelming burning concentrate into her core, and then it exploded. A massive detonation of fire erupted from her in every direction, blasting through the room so powerfully she felt it shake the very foundations of the building. It incinerated everything but the immediate patch of bed where Korra was sitting so thoroughly that all that was left were smoldering embers.

"Korra!" Asami called frantically, sliding to a halt in front of scorched doorway in her nightgown and robe. Korra was panting for air, so breathless and exhausted that she couldn't form a response. She could barely hold herself up. Asami tried to step into the room, but the floor was too hot, and the moment she put her bare foot down on it, she jumped back.

That's when Tonraq and Senna showed up, looking as terrified and confused as Asami. Tonraq rushed into the room still pulling his boots on, and he scooped Korra into his arms and carried her out to the living room.

"You're burning up," he said worriedly, setting her on the couch.

Nothing was red anymore. Nothing hurt or felt tense and the voices were gone, and all Korra really felt was tired. "I'm okay," she told them weakly. Her gaze fell on Asami, scanning her for any sign of burns; as far as she knew, they'd been sleeping together when she lit the bed on fire. "Did I hurt you?"

Asami shook her head, and she was so concerned that there were tears pooling at the edges of her eyes. "I got up to get you some water," she explained. "And when I came back, everything was on fire." Korra sighed and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and burying her face in her hands. "Korra," Asami prompted gently, and Korra hummed that she was listening. "Your eyes were red."

Korra dropped her hands and glanced up, focus alternating between Asami and her parents. "I don't know what they did to me," she whispered, a pained confusion tightening in her stomach. "I don't know what's supposed to be normal for the Avatar and I don't know what to do." Asami's eyebrows converged with a sympathy that looked just as tortured as Korra felt, and she sat down at Korra's side to pull her into a hug. "I could've killed you," Korra choked, wrapping her arms around Asami and holding her tight, burying her face in Asami's neck and reluctant to release her even for a moment.

 _Something's wrong with me_ , Korra thought. _Something is so wrong and you need to watch me_. She wanted to say it out loud. Wanted to tell her parents and Asami that she wasn't okay, she could feel that she wasn't okay, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the words out. That conflict and tension she'd felt in her sleep returned and gripped her chest, locking the words in her throat. She couldn't say it. Something inside her wouldn't allow her to.

"Korra," Senna prompted gently, and Korra unwillingly pulled away from Asami to look at her mother. "What happened?"

Before answering, Korra's gaze wandered past her parents to where Naga was lying on the floor. Naga had her hind legs tucked under her, the way dogs lay when they aren't comfortable, when they feel they'll need to rise at any moment to meet a threat. Her ears were cropped forward warily, and her eyes were locked on Korra with something like distrust. Naga knew. Something was wrong with Korra and Naga could tell, but Korra was simultaneously discouraged and relieved that Naga couldn't voice her clear concern.

"Bad dream," Korra answered quietly, tearing her focus away from Naga. "I'm just… stressed, and worried." That was a lie. She _was_ stressed and worried, but those weren't the cause of the fire, and she knew it. Whatever the Blue Lotus had done to her, it created a rift so deep she could sense it, and that conflict within her was volatile.

"A lot's happened in less than twenty-four hours," Tonraq said comfortingly. "Just try not to take all the responsibility on yourself."

Korra nodded, falling back against the couch with a heavy sigh. It was late in the morning, but she was still tired, and as she let her eyes fall closed just to rest them, she heard her parents depart to the kitchen while saying something about tea. After a moment of sitting there in silence, Asami turned sideways on the couch, setting a gentle hand on one of Korra's.

"Hey," she said, leaning in to press a kiss to Korra's cheek. Korra opened her eyes to meet Asami's gaze, and for a long moment, Asami just looked at her. Then a hand caressed the side of her face, and Asami asked seriously, "Are you okay?"

It wasn't the normal reassurance that Asami always and diligently offered. Not like all the times she told Korra things would be okay just to let her know she wasn't alone. She was asking. _Genuinely_ asking, with an unmistakably severe concern in her eyes as they scanned Korra's face.

"I know you're probably getting tired of being asked," Asami said, and added cautiously, "You just seem a little… off."

Those words were at the tip of her tongue again. _I'm not okay, and you know it. Don't let me lie to you._ But she couldn't get them out. They were stuck, and she opened her mouth to try and say it but they wouldn't budge, and it _hurt_. It hurt that she couldn't tell Asami, no matter how hard she tried. The conflict hurt and her brain hurt and her heart hurt. Everything ached with discord.

Korra's mouth hung open, unsure of what she wanted to say or what she'd even be able to say. Before she could say anything, the house phone started ringing, and because both of her parents were busy in the kitchen, Korra got up to answer it. "Hello?"

"Korra," Mako's voice sighed with relief. "I called you and Asami a million times, why haven't you been answering?"

Oh, right… "I kind of incinerated our cell phones…"

Korra could just picture the confusion on Mako's face as he asked, "You're _fire_ bending?"

"Something like that," she answered vaguely, because she'd rather explain everything in person.

"What about Asami?" Mako asked.

"No," Korra said, glancing back at Asami and mouthing to her that it was Mako. "She's not bending. What about you and Bolin?" As she asked that, in the background on Mako's end, she could hear a commotion, and the loud wail of government cars. "Wait, are those sirens?"

"Yeah, that's why I called you," he said, cutting out as another loud siren overshadowed his voice. "…and we're going to get Opal. People just started bending overnight, and everyone's freaking out, it's chaotic here. I wanted to make sure you guys were okay."

"My dad has things under control," Korra said urgently, "Asami and I will be on the first flight out. We'll meet you at the police station this afternoon."

Mako shouted something away from the phone at Bolin, and then returned to the receiver. "If you two are safe there, you should stay."

"I have to come, Mako," Korra murmured. "It's all my fault."

"What do you mean it's your fault?" he asked in surprise.

"I'll explain everything when we get there," she said. "Be careful."

"You too," Mako said, and hung up.

Korra put the phone down, noticing that her mom and dad had strode over to the doorway of the kitchen. They and Asami were watching her, waiting for an explanation. "Things sound really bad in Republic City," she told them. "I have to try and help." Her dad took in a breath to say something, but she could read his mind. "I'm not staying here to just sit around," she interjected. It didn't matter that they had no idea what the Blue Lotus had done to her; she couldn't just wait around to find out while the rest of the world fell apart. "People need to know the Avatar is back, and I need to figure out what that means."

"Okay," Tonraq conceded, but added apologetically, "But we closed the airport last night until people could calm down."

Korra felt a flare of heated frustration in her chest, but before it could turn into an outburst like last night, Asami said, "All we need is a plane. I'll fly us out of here."

Korra wanted to hug Asami for being so freaking brilliant, but the urgency she felt had her too tense. "Let's go," she said impatiently, making a move toward the hall.

Asami stayed in place, motioning to the nightgown she had on under her robe. "Can we put real clothes on first?"

All it took was a glance down at her own tank top and sweatpants for Korra to agree. Fortunately, their bags of clothes had been in the closet in Korra's room, and were spared from the fire. They hurried to get dressed, hugged Senna and Tonraq goodbye, and rode Naga to the airport. Tonraq had called and had a small plane prepared for them, so it was ready when they got there. All they had to do when they arrived was throw their bags in and climb in with Naga, and then Asami had them speeding down the runway.

"It's going to be a while," Asami said once they were comfortably in the air. "You can sleep if you want."

Korra nodded and leaned back in her seat, but there was no way she'd be able to sleep. No way she'd _want_ to sleep, given how she'd woken up in flames. That was the last thing they needed while they were thousands of feet in the air. So she stared out the window the whole time, trying not to think about what awaited them in Republic City or how she'd handle the situation. What could she say to the people, or how could she help? It's not like she could teach everyone how to control their bending when she couldn't even keep herself from combusting.

It took them a good portion of the day to fly back to Republic City, and even as they flew over it toward the airport, Korra could tell the state it was in. Buildings were up in flames, others that were made of brick had collapsed completely, and dust and smoke from both had clouded the sky. She couldn't see through it to the ground below, but she could imagine what they'd find. The city was congested, there were a _lot_ of people and there'd be benders of every kind who didn't know what was happening or how to control it. Non-benders were probably terrified.

It took an obvious effort, but Asami managed to get them back on the ground safely. The airport was in the central hub of Republic City, so when they left it and got the main street, they found that things were worse than Korra thought. The roads weren't drivable. They were uneven and jagged because of earthbenders. People who'd had to evacuate burning or collapsing buildings were wandering the streets because they had nowhere else to go, and a lot of them had taken to looting. Broken glass from shop windows littered the sidewalk, street vendors' carts had been upturned and picked clean, and people who couldn't protect themselves huddled in corners.

As Korra stared with a confusing mixture of horror and wonder at the chaos, Asami slipped a hand into hers and said gently, "We'll fix this."

Korra nodded, mind returning to the task at hand. She climbed up onto Naga's back, offered a hand to help Asami get up too, and they started toward the police station. They passed EMTs and firefighters and police, all of who were working to help the injured or stop people from looting or causing more damage, but Korra could see on their faces that they were just as bewildered as the civilians. Just as unsure of what to do or how to control the situation. Korra and Asami only got a couple streets before they were passing a man and a woman trying to break through a shop window, and there weren't any unoccupied cops around to arrest them.

"Stop," Asami said urgently, and the moment Korra pulled Naga to a halt, Asami jumped off to the ground. "Hey!" Asami yelled, sprinting over.

As Korra got off Naga too, Asami grabbed the arm of the woman, skillfully spun her around and shoved her onto her stomach. The man turned around angrily, lighting fire in his palms and preparing to retaliate against Asami. Korra immediately blasted him with a stream of air so powerful he hit the shop window behind him and cracked it.

"You're not helping the city," Asami told them.

They didn't seem to want to listen, because the woman Asami had put down pulled a knife from her pocket and jumped to her feet. Korra smashed a chunk of rock from the street, threw it around the woman's wrist, and lifted upward. She flew into the air, and Korra pushed her back against the second story of the building and then molded the stone of it around her to keep her in place. Korra turned an annoyed glare on the man, daring him to threaten either of them again.

Instead, his eyes were wide as he asked in awe, "Are you the Avatar?"

Korra smashed her boot against the ground, lifting the earth beneath him so swiftly it tossed him into the air. She earthbent another chunk from the ground, pushing it forward so it collided with him in mid air and sculpted him onto the exterior of the building beside his companion. But even after he was secure, she kept pushing, forcing him harder into the side of the building until he let out a cry of pain. And there was a part of her that wanted to keep going. To keep pushing with the rock until it killed him.

She was fighting it. With everything Korra had, she was fighting the unmistakable urge to crush this man, but the urge was strong. So strong that she gritted her teeth against it as a splitting headache started at the base of her skull. She squeezed her eyes shut to focus on forcing down the one surge it would take to squash him completely. Even though the man grunted again with pain because she pushed a little harder, a drop of sweat formed at her temple with the effort to fight it.

"Korra?" Asami said worriedly, setting a hand on her shoulder. The touch snapped Korra out of it, and she opened her eyes to meet Asami's concerned gaze. "We're good here," she said, scanning Korra's face like she _knew_. "We can go." She looked like she wanted to ask once more if Korra was okay, but Korra was glad that she didn't. She didn't know what she'd say if Asami asked.

They left the people there and got back into Naga's saddle, traveling the remaining distance to the police station. It was a chaotic buzz of police chatter and activity when they walked through the doors, but they continued into the central office of the building, where Korra knew Mako's desk was. He was there with Bolin, Opal, and Pabu when they walked in, and a wave of relief washed over his face when he saw them.

"Korra!" Bolin hollered. He ran over and wrapped his arms around Korra's shoulders in a tight hug. Usually Korra loved how affectionate Bolin was, but for some reason, now she practically shrugged him off. He even looked a little disappointed about it, but took a step back and said with unhindered enthusiasm, "Look!" He earthbent a step out of the stone floor, eyes bright with excitement. "And Mako can firebend, and Opal can airbend!"

"That's great, Bolin," Korra chuckled.

"Bolin," said a familiar, unamused female voice, "Put the floor back."

Bolin did as he was told, and Korra strode past him toward Mako's desk. "Chief," she greeted, nodding toward Lin Beifong. "Hey, Mako. Hi, Opal."

Lin and Opal both gave Korra a similar nod, while Mako rose from his seat at the edge of his desk. "Can you believe what's going on out there?" he asked rhetorically. "I don't know what happened."

Korra glanced to her side to make sure Asami was there, taking comfort in having her close so she wouldn't have to say all this alone. "I do." And she explained everything she could; the spirit portal, the pulse that shot out from it, her being the Avatar, and the Blue Lotus. By the time she finished, everyone except for Asami was staring at her, either with their eyes wide or their mouths hanging open.

The first one to speak was Bolin. "You're the _Avatar_?" he asked, so excited with the information that he clenched his fists by his chest and bounced happily. At least someone was staying positive.

"So," Mako began, "you really don't know what the Blue Lotus did to you?" Korra shook her head. "Okay, but, how do you feel? I mean, can you tell that they did something?"

Korra's uncontrollable aversion to talking about it was so great that she felt her jaw work back and forth, chewing over a response. She even felt Asami stiffen beside her, because whether or not Asami would say it, she knew something was different about Korra. Korra glanced sideways uncomfortably, relieved when Asami said nothing. "I think getting the city back on its feet is more important right now," Korra answered.

"I agree," Lin said. She grabbed the phone on Mako's desk and punched in an extension, saying into the receiver, "Get the president down here."

"Raiko's here?" Korra asked.

Lin nodded in confirmation. "And whatever the Blue Lotus did to you, you're functional. Let's see what Raiko can use you for."

They waited around for a minute in silence for Raiko to come and meet them, and when he did, they explained the situation again. At first, it didn't seem like he really wanted to believe _Korra_ was the Avatar. "Korra's the Avatar?" he asked in disbelief, and when they all nodded, he said, "Are you _sure_?"

Korra had the immediate urge to smack him with a combination of elements just to prove it. Fortunately for her, Asami said, "Trust me, she's the Avatar."

When he finally did accept Asami's word, there was an immediate and offensive amount of disapproval in his demeanor as he asked, "And?"

"What do you mean 'and'?" Korra retorted, brow furrowing with annoyance.

"What do you need us to do?" Asami asked nicely, placing a subtle hand on Korra's arm as if to remind her to stay calm. It made Korra wonder just how thoroughly Asami could tell that she kept teetering on emotional extremes. Or… homicidal extremes, considering she'd had the urge to kill a man and Raiko's condescending face was looking particularly punchable.

"Nothing," he answered. Korra opened her mouth to protest, but before she could, he continued. "Diplomatically, I think the city could benefit from hearing from the Avatar – hopefully it'll calm people down. Prepare a speech with basic details about the spirit portal and bending, and I'll set up a press conference for tomorrow morning."

"What about tonight?" Korra asked.

"Go home," Raiko said. "We're about to put out an announcement about shelter for everyone who's lost their home. With people off the streets, the authorities will have an easier time maintaining control." He must've been able to tell Korra wasn't satisfied with that, because he added, "Korra, just because you're the Avatar now doesn't mean you know what you're doing. Leave it to those of us with experience."

"I'll never get experience if people keep refusing to let me figure it out!" Korra exclaimed, throwing her hands up with frustration. "Let me do something!"

"You've done enough already," Raiko said coolly.

Homicidal extremes. Korra's jaw set angrily as her fist clenched at her side. As if she didn't already feel conflicted enough about bringing bending back and throwing the world into chaos, he had to go and rub it in her face. She could feel the foundations of a retaliation fire warming in her palm, and unlike the looters she'd earthbent at, this time, she wasn't working to fight it.

Before she could go completely nuclear, the hand Asami had put on her arm slid down, fingers working gently to unclench her fist. "Korra," Asami murmured, folding her hand with Korra's.

The touch brought her back from the edge, and despite the fact that some deep part of her was still grossly offended, she was suddenly confused at the intense reaction she'd been about to have. Raiko had always been irritating and stubborn and slightly condescending. She was used to that, and what she'd been preparing to do was _not_ okay. She needed to get out of here. Maybe going home _was_ for the best. "See you tomorrow," she muttered in a low voice.

When she turned away and headed for the exit, she heard a collection of footsteps follow after her. Asami, Mako, Bolin, and Opal all trailed her outside to where she'd left Naga.

"What now?" Opal asked, holding Pabu out to let him scurry onto Naga's back.

"I don't know how safe it is in the city," Mako said.

"Why don't you guys come stay at my estate?" Asami suggested. "There's plenty of room."

"Oh!" Bolin exclaimed happily. "Do you have a pool?"

"Yeah," Asami laughed, and then glanced at each of them for a response.

"Sounds great," Opal agreed.

Mako peered up and down the fractured road. "How are we going to get there? We can't drive, and we can't all ride Naga."

While they talked it over, Korra's focus had been pulled elsewhere. There were two men in an alley across the street, arguing over something one of them was holding – some possession they'd looted, or maybe one of them was being robbed. Whatever the case, Korra was fascinated with the escalating exchange. The first physical outburst came when one man shoved the other. Korra knew the other guy was about to shove right back, and some mischievous part of her wanted in on this.

So her friends wouldn't notice, Korra pretended to stretch her arms above her head, using the gesture to earthbend a small curb in the ground behind the man about to get pushed. It made an audible crack, so that when the man got shoved and tripped over the lifted earth, he blamed the earthbending on the other guy. And it made him furious. He retaliated by plowing shoulder first into the man's gut, taking them both to the ground to start a scrapple that made Korra's lips curl.

"Korra?" Asami prompted. "What do you think?"

It was obvious to all of them that Korra hadn't been paying attention, and Mako was the first to follow the direction of her gaze. He spotted the men fighting, and took off across the street, yelling, "Hey! Police! Knock it off!"

At the word 'police,' both men stopped the quarrel and sprinted away in opposite directions. Mako didn't bother chasing either of them, and returned to where they were standing, giving Korra a curious look like he was wondering why she didn't say anything to end the fight sooner.

"What was the plan?" Korra asked distractedly.

"The edge of the city is only a few blocks away," Asami answered. "We can walk there and borrow an abandoned car to drive to my place."

"Borrow," Korra repeated with an amused smile. "Mako's okay with that?"

He shrugged. "Normally I wouldn't condone it… but tonight I'll make an exception, _if_ we track down the owner later and return it."

"Okay," she agreed. "Sounds good to me."

With that, they all started the trek toward the edge of the city. It wasn't the most peaceful walk. People were still out and scared and, though looting had died down, the evidence of it was everywhere. Everything was damaged and broken. Streetlamps and buildings were toppled, and the air was thick with dust and smoke. Despite the tension in the air, Bolin tried to keep the mood light. He asked Korra questions about being the Avatar, like could she go into the Avatar state, and what was her favorite element so far. She didn't really have concrete answers for him, so after a while, he stopped asking.

They were turning a corner, almost to their destination, when they passed by a massive guy standing beside an alley. He was leaning back against the wall next to his motorcycle, smoking, and Korra didn't miss the large Triple Threat Triad tattoo on his neck. Each one of them seemed content to ignore him as they passed by. At least, that was until he let out a suggestive whistle. Instinct told Korra he was whistling at Asami, and it made her seethe.

She turned on her heels, asking angrily, "Did you just _cat call_?"

"Don't worry, sweetheart," he laughed, flicking his cigarette to the ground. "I wasn't whistling at you." He nodded toward Asami. "I was whistling at the tall one. I'd like to bend her over my bike."

Korra took a furious step forward because no way was she going to let him disrespect Asami like that, but Asami's hand grabbed hers. "Korra," she protested, "Don't. Just ignore it."

"Yeah, come on," Mako agreed, "It's not worth it."

"Listen to your friends, kid," the guy told her, but his leering eyes did a full scan of Asami's body when he said 'friends.' "Before you get hurt."

" _Kid_?" Korra repeated, feeling an intensely irate heat flush in her face. " _Before I get hurt_?" She slammed a heavy foot down and clenched both fists, tearing two enormous chunks of rock from the ground beside her. "I'm the Avatar, bitch! I'll knock your fucking lights out!"

"Korra!" Asami yelled before she could hurl the rocks at him, wrapping an arm around her waist and yanking her back.

Pulling her back had caused her to drop the boulders, but Asami's touch and saying her name didn't work this time, not like it had before. She shrugged Asami off of her in frustration. Before anyone else could grab her and pull her away again, she motioned powerfully with both arms, and though she hadn't even been thinking about what her intentions were, the gesture sent the motorcycle flying into the air. It soared down the street until Korra swung her arms down, smashing the bike so hard against the cement that it exploded on the spot.

"You're dead!" the man hollered, taking a step to advance on Korra.

None of them had a moment to process that Korra had just metalbent. Mako and Bolin cut the guy off, and Mako pulled out his badge and held it up. While they worked at deterring an attack, Asami grabbed Korra's arm and hauled her into the alley.

"Korra," Asami said seriously, but Korra was still riled up and angry and _violent_. She made a move to head back out and finish what she started, but Asami grabbed her face, forcing eye contact as she said sternly, "Korra, look at me."

Korra glared, so full of fury and savage intent that she lit a threatening fire in both hands. The warning sent Asami skittering back a few steps. Her face had converged with fear, and her green eyes were wide and full of panic and it cut through Korra's anger like a knife. Korra killed the flames, tense shoulders dropping as every bit of rage in her instantly turned to guilt.

"I'm sorry," she murmured hastily, meeting Asami's frightened gaze with a look that pleaded forgiveness. "I wasn't-" She was about to say that she wasn't going to hurt Asami… but she honestly wasn't sure what she'd been about to do. She didn't know what she was capable of and, right now, that terrified her. "I'm so sorry."

"Korra," Asami whispered on a confused breath. She took a cautious step forward, reaching up to set a careful hand against Korra's face. "I haven't said anything because I know it's important to you to help everyone else before you help yourself…" Confident that Korra wouldn't retaliate again, she cupped Korra's face in both hands and touched their foreheads together. " _Please_ be honest with me. What's happening to you?"

Korra felt guilty, conflicted, tortured tears sting her eyes. She wrapped her arms around Asami's waist to pull her into a hug, burying her face in Asami's neck. "I don't know," she answered, voice cracking with the stress and pain in her chest. "Get me out of here," she pleaded. "Take me home."

She felt Asami nod against her, give her a gentle squeeze, and then pull away. "Come on." Asami led the way out of the alley. Mako and Bolin had gotten the gangster to walk away, so when they got there, she motioned for Korra to get on Naga. Then she turned to Mako. "I need to get Korra to the estate. We'll see you there?"

Korra felt Mako's gaze fall on her, and she knew that, even if he didn't know exactly what was going on, on some level, he understood. "We'll be there soon," he told Asami.

Asami hopped into Naga's saddle behind Korra, and after saying a quick goodbye to Bolin and Opal, they started for the estate. It didn't take long for them to get there, but it was dark by the time they arrived. Honestly, once they got there, Korra didn't trust herself enough to know what she wanted to do. She didn't want to sit around and think about all the ways she wasn't helping Republic City. Didn't want to think about all the ways she could mess things up if she did try to help. She especially didn't want to think about all the ways she'd _intentionally_ mess things up.

The best option appeared to be sleep. It helped that all the stress and emotion was weighing on her and making her tired. The moment she got into Asami's bedroom, she kicked off her shoes and crashed down onto her back on the bed, and within minutes, she was asleep. Even though it came quick, the peace of it didn't seem to last long. The voices were back. Or, _one_ voice was back. The deep one. The dark one. The one that provoked her and made her do things that she didn't want to do.

"Korra," it called. It laughed. "Stop fighting me, Korra." Another sinister chuckle. "Korra… You like the trouble, Korra. You like it. Korra…" Another laugh. "That's it," it cooed happily. "Korra…"

Korra woke, sitting up straight with her heart pounding so hard that it felt like it'd beat right out of her chest. Though Korra wouldn't have thought she'd been sleeping long, it felt late in the night, and under the crack of the closed door, she couldn't see the hint of any other lights on in the house. Surely that meant the others were already here. Already sleeping. Korra caught a glimpse of a glow in the vanity mirror on the right side of the room, and when she looked into it, she realized it was her own eyes. This was what Asami had seen. The glowing red. Korra shook her head, ridding her eyes of the light even though it did nothing to rid the hammering of her heart, or the dark, cold feeling of chaos in her chest.

Just when Korra realized Asami wasn't in bed beside her, there was a flash of blue light from the desk on the left side of the room. Korra blinked, focusing through the dark of the room to the dim light the desk lamp offered. Asami was sitting there, back to the bed so that she hadn't yet realized Korra had woken. She was working over something, something that buzzed and caused another flash of blue light.

"Asami," Korra said, climbing off the bed and crossing the room to turn on the light. Asami turned, giving her a soft smile as she wandered over to the desk. "What are you doing?"

"I didn't mean to wake you," Asami offered.

"You didn't," Korra said, leaning over Asami from behind to set her arms over her shoulders.

"You've all got bending now," Asami explained, holding up a thick glove with metal around the fingers and wrist, and a round disc at the center of the palm. Asami put it on, demonstrating how blue electricity surged around the entire thing. "I thought I'd make an advantage of my own."

"You're a total genius," Korra said beside her ear, pressing an impressed kiss below it. Asami hummed with flattered curiosity. "Yeah," Korra confirmed, kissing lower on her neck. "It's kind of a turn on."

"You think so?" Asami asked, tilting her head enough to encourage the next kiss.

"I do," Korra answered. She spun the chair around so Asami was facing her, set her hands on the arms, and leaned in close to Asami's lips. "It's also really late… I think you should come to bed."

There was a moment's pause, during which Asami's eyes fell to Korra's lips, and then scanned her face. And Korra could see the hesitation. Could see the gears turning in Asami's mind like she was completely overthinking this. Maybe Korra was being too confident, and maybe that was giving her away, but she didn't want Asami questioning her mood. Or how she was feeling. Or what she was thinking. She was restless, and she needed to give her heart a reason to keep racing. Needed to give her body a use for all the overheated blood coursing through her veins. She needed an outlet.

So she didn't wait for Asami to close the distance, and she closed it herself. Asami's arms snaked around her neck with reception, and she dipped one of her own around Asami's waist, hauling her out of the chair to push her back toward the bed. Korra's eagerness had Asami under her in seconds, but Asami hadn't even changed into pajamas yet and every inch of flesh was constricted behind tight clothing. She didn't like that. Wasn't in the mood to work for skin and the idea of not having all of it already was frustrating.

She pushed Asami's shirt up to her ribs, lowering her impatient mouth to the smooth abdomen to release some of her tension. A tension that built with excitement when Asami's hands found her hair. When she could hear that Asami's breathing picked up like her heartbeat was trying to catch up with Korra's. Korra licked and nipped with need, and when her teeth connected with Asami's soft skin, Asami let out a whimper. But it wasn't a pleased one. It was to let Korra know she'd bit too hard. Korra moved up, pressing an apologetic kiss to Asami's jaw before shifting to her neck, but Korra couldn't contain the antsy discontent. She bit down over Asami's pulse point.

"Korra," Asami complained on a breath, flinching beneath her.

Korra huffed a noise into Asami's neck, an odd mixture of apology and annoyance. She tried to stop, but Asami's clothes were driving her crazy and she didn't have the patience or the control or the _sanity_. She kissed down Asami's neck and pulled the shirt away from her shoulder, sinking her teeth in again as if to show those tiresome clothes that _she_ was in charge, to prove that she could get what she wanted, _when_ she wanted. But Asami didn't like it.

"Korra _, be gentle_ ," she uttered, and the edge of irritation in her voice caused what little restraint Korra had to snap.

She pulled back, eyes narrowed with frustration. "Quit being such a wuss about it."

Asami blinked with complete shock for only a moment before the offense sank in. "Excuse me?" All Korra did was lift her eyebrows expectantly, because she'd been perfectly clear. "Get off," Asami said pointedly.

"Oh, come on," Korra whined.

"I'm not in the mood anymore," she said, putting her hands on Korra's shoulders.

"Asami," Korra groaned with a taunting amount of disappointment. "Don't be like that."

"I'm not joking, Korra," she said, and when Korra still refused to move, Asami bucked, shifting Korra's weight enough to dump her on the mattress. Asami bolted off the bed, standing beside it with an intense mix of emotions on her face. She looked hurt, angry, confused, and a little bit scared, but her voice was full of concern when she said, "Something is seriously wrong with you."

"Yeah," Korra spat with irritation. "What's wrong is my girlfriend's a prude." She climbed off the bed, and not even Asami could curb the severe restlessness and anxiety Korra felt. If she didn't get out of here _now_ then she'd completely lose it. On her way toward the exit, she grabbed her shoes. She pulled them on, opened the door, and called behind her as she paced out, "Let me know when you stop being boring."

It wasn't like the alley. The hurt Korra had seen and could still imagine on Asami's face didn't snap her out of it, and it didn't make her feel guilty. Whatever parts of her that might've cared were entirely smothered by the parts of her that needed to stir some trouble. Fuck, she needed _chaos_. She missed the feeling of being in the city. Missed the adrenaline rush of almost getting into a fight with a gangster twice her size. Missed the smoke and the dust and the distant sound of sirens. She needed it like she needed the air in her lungs.

Korra hurried down the stairs and out the front door of Asami's mansion, stopping outside of it and cocking her head to look at the car Mako, Bolin, and Opal had driven in. It was exactly what she needed. She jumped into the driver's seat, started it up, and sped away from the Sato Estate. She journeyed as far into Republic City as the damaged roads would let her, and then abandoned the car to walk the rest of the way to her destination.

She only knew where she was going because Mako had told her about it. It was a place he'd talked about a few times when they were dating, when he talked about his past. She wandered down the streets, taking turns until she reached the alley she'd been searching for. The door to the back of the restaurant was closed, so she knocked on it to see if anyone was there.

It took a few seconds, but then a man opened up. "What?" he asked harshly.

Korra didn't bother saying anything. She shoved past him and into the back of the restaurant. There were a bunch of hardened, rough-looking men and women lounging around, talking and drinking and gambling. She stopped at the center of the room as everyone went silent, looking at her like she was crazy for stepping foot in here.

From behind her, a deep voice growled, " _Avatar_."

She turned to meet it, and it was the man whose motorcycle she'd destroyed. He made a move to stomp toward her with clenched fists, but she didn't have the patience for this, and he wasn't worth her time. Korra motioned earth from the stone floor, molding it up each of his calves to lock him in place.

She immediately turned toward another man, one who'd stepped forward with a look of authority. "Triple Threat Triad," she said boredly, glancing at the gang members around the room. The leader squinted at her with interest. "Let's make a deal."


	9. Chapter 9

_***_ _I don't really know what to say this time around... I've officially changed the summary of this story, so... read on, shippers._

… _.._

The Triple Threat Triad leader watched Korra with a suspicious glare, clearly distrusting of her intentions. "A deal?" he repeated skeptically.

Korra nodded, but as she did, it felt wrong. Whatever was happening was catching up to her, the _real_ her. It was sinking in. This wasn't right. She wasn't home where she was supposed to be, with Asami. She'd hurt Asami. She'd walked out and found the Triple Threat Triad and _what is happening to me?_ The darkness she'd felt inside her ever since the Blue Lotus took her had felt foreign, but she was beginning to think that they hadn't just altered her. They hadn't just manipulated something that already existed within her. They'd done more than that.

The darkness she felt, the darkness that was consuming her wasn't something she already had inside her, and it wasn't something that came with being the Avatar. It couldn't be. The Avatar was supposed to be good, to bring balance and help people. Something was taking over – something that didn't belong – and that realization was simultaneously terrifying and comforting. Korra didn't know how to stop it, or how to get rid of it or reverse it, but it being something foreign to her, something that didn't _belong_ in her, meant she could fight it. She _had_ to fight it.

After the nod, the man watched her for a long moment before folding his arms across his chest. "You got guts coming in here," he said calmly. "Go ahead."

"I'm making a public speech in the morning," Korra said. _Fight it._ At the back of her mind, she tried to stop the words the same way she wasn't able to tell Asami what was really wrong with her, but they came out anyway. "President Raiko will be there." Korra paused, and the leader nodded her on. "I want you to kill him."

The leader snorted with amusement. "Assassinations don't come cheap, _Avatar_ ," he said, with an overly sarcastic emphasis on 'Avatar.'

Korra clenched her fist, but for the first time that night, it wasn't anger. It was the strain of battling what she was doing. She shouldn't be here. Shouldn't be making propositions to gangsters or planning Raiko's death. "You're not killing him for me," she said, swallowing hard to try and keep the next words from leaving her throat. It wasn't working. "You're doing it for you."

The leader took in a deep, interested breath, saying as he let it out, "I'm listening."

 _Don't do it,_ Korra thought. _Don't say it. What are you doing?_ Her nails were digging into her palm, she could feel the pain of it cutting into her flesh. Every muscle in her body was stiff with the effort to fight what she was doing, and the tension was so powerful that her back was starting to ache. But it wasn't enough. "Everyone knows about the turf wars you guys are part of." The gloating darkness in Korra made her roll her head, stretching her neck to ease some of the tension. It was taunting her, teasing her efforts to regain control. "People are panicked, police are occupied, and right now the entire city's ripe for the picking. The only thing keeping you from claiming this city is Raiko."

"The _entire_ city," the Triad leader mused, a small smile at the corner of his mouth. "What do you get out of this?"

"Chaos," Korra answered, and the word made her sick.

She had to do something to regain control. She had to do more, but what? Her nails were breaking skin and the pain wasn't enough. The guilt of hurting Asami wasn't enough. There was a sheen of sweat cooling her forehead with the sheer force of will she was exerting to overcome this, and she was so close that she could feel it. The darkness could feel it too, because it fought harder, grasping tighter to the control it had over her. The struggle raged behind grinding teeth and racing heart and the building pain in her head.

"You dream big," the man said, falling silent to watch Korra for a few long moments. She wasn't sure if he could tell something was wrong with her. Maybe she just looked nervous. Eventually, he nodded. "Alright, Avatar. You make sure he's on stage with you in the morning, and I'll send my best to take care of it."

 _Take it back_ , Korra told herself. _Make something up so it's not a good idea anymore. Don't let them go through with this._ There had to be something she could do. As she turned and two gang members escorted her to the door, she knew there had to be something. Wasn't there an Avatar state? She'd seen pictures in history books. It was supposed to be when the Avatar was most powerful. But how? She had no practice, no instruction, no idea how to bring it on.

 _Raava,_ she thought as she stepped out into the alley behind the restaurant, _if you're going to help me, now's the time._ She stopped just outside the door, struggling to keep herself from taking another step away, and it worked. Her leg tensed with the motion to walk, but her foot never left the ground. She almost had control, and she ignored the splitting pain in her head to keep focusing on not letting that progress go.

"You can leave now," one of the Triad members said from behind her. She was concentrating too hard to respond, and when she failed to say anything, the man mumbled, "weirdo," and closed the door.

 _Avatar state._ Korra shut her eyes tight, battling the command to walk away and let this happen. _Avatar state._ It was getting harder, the more she tried to regain control, the more the darkness in her resisted giving it up. The headache got worse. It pulsed in every blood vessel above her neck, pounding against the pressure in her skull that already felt like it'd burst. The muscles of her back and arms and stomach were coiled so tight they were burning. The sweat on her forehead collected, a drop slid down the bridge of her nose, and she began to breathe heavy with the exertion of the effort. _Avatar state._

The harrowing torment in her head got so bad she threw her hands up to clutch at her skull, squeezing to try and ease some of the pressure, but she couldn't quit now. She panted for air, trying to get all the oxygen she could to fuel the building pressure between her hands. _Avatar state!_ Korra's eyes shot open with an explosion of energy, glowing such a pure, white light that it illuminated the immediate alley in front of her. Wind swirled around her in a heavy gust, and all at once, the pressure was gone and the pain was gone and she had control again.

Korra blinked away the light as the wind died down. As the glowing faded from her eyes, she was so tired from the struggle and that brief moment in the Avatar state that she nearly fell to her knees. She managed to catch herself on the alley wall, and leaned against it for support while she recovered breath. The fight wasn't over. She could still feel the conflict deep in her chest, but for now, she'd won.

"Hey!" Korra turned and slammed a fist against the door to the restaurant. There was no response, so she hammered against it once more and yelled sternly, "Open up!"

The door swung open, and the Triad leader stared out at her. "What?"

She glanced past him at all the gang members inside, who were watching on curiously. "I changed my mind."

He huffed amusedly like he thought she was joking, and when he realized she was completely serious, he laughed even harder. "You changed your mind," he cackled, calling over his shoulder, "She changed her mind!" He made to shut the door in her face, but she shoved her palm against it to stop him, glaring harshly while she lit a fire in her other hand. In response to the gesture, every member of the Triad crowded nearer the door. Those who had bending readied their element, and those who didn't wielded their weapons. "You think long and hard about that change of heart, Avatar," the leader said, his amusement shifting to annoyance.

Korra studied the number of people inside. She could fight, but there's no way she'd win. She was severely outnumbered, a lot of them were benders, and she wasn't strong enough or confident enough and she didn't know if she could force herself into the Avatar state again, or if it would even help that much. What she needed was to regroup and think of a plan. What she needed was help. She took a step back, making no protest when the Triad leader slammed the door on her.

This was bad. The president of Republic City was going to be killed during her speech tomorrow because _she'd_ asked for it. She had to come clean, at least to her friends so they could help her stop this. So they could keep an eye out during her speech and help protect Raiko. But she couldn't go back to the Sato Estate yet, because she had to find a way to protect her friends from herself. She had to try and figure out what was happening, or what the Blue Lotus had done to her. At the very least, she had to make sure she could maintain control.

Korra began to leave the alley, but as she reached the entrance of it, a fresh, splitting pain shot through her head. It knocked her sideways against the wall, and she leaned against it for support as she groaned through the agony. "No, no," she whispered, clutching at her temple, "no." She could feel the darkness closing in on her again, trying to take over.

Now that she knew what the Avatar state felt like, she tried to go into it once more. She squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated, tried to shut out the pain and the pull of the corruption. It took every effort she could muster, but she felt a surge of power go through her. When her eyes shot open, it was with a bright red light, but it flickered. She could see the reflection of red against the dark wall beside her. Then white. Red and white and red and white. And every time it changed, the pain in her head got worse. Red, white, red, white.

The pain was so severe that she yelled into the night, an incoherent and agonized shout, and the release of energy caused the next flicker to stop at white. Her head still hurt, and now that her eyes glowed a consistent white, it wasn't throbbing. It was a constant sharpness that caused a high pitch ringing in her ears, and it was so bad that she lost balance and stumbled forward out of the alley. She caught herself on the side of a car in the street, glancing in the window to see the evidence of the Avatar state in her eyes. She thought she'd won, thought it had forced away the darkness, but as she watched, her eyes began to flicker faster than they had before. Red white red white redwhitered.

She felt the very moment that the wrongness took over again, the very moment she was no longer _her_ , but her eyes didn't stop glowing red with its victory. The illumination remained, as though this was its own powerful state, and whatever it was that had taken over her needed this strength to keep control. The headache lingered, but the darkness didn't care about the pain. Didn't care that Korra was hurting, or that she didn't want this.

She backed away from the car, bent at the knees, and when she snapped into a straight position again, fire shot from her hands and feet. She flew into the air like a jet, the flames propelling her up and forward. Over and around buildings. Though Korra didn't know where she was going, didn't know where the darkness was forcing her to go, she felt the intention. Felt the desire for trouble. It wasn't until she saw the police station in the distance that she realized where she was heading.

Korra blasted straight over the fenced-in parking lot, where all the police cars that weren't still out dealing with the chaos were parked. Reaching the center of the lot, she killed the fire and used her earthbending to slam down like a missile on the asphalt. She'd never felt power like this before. A power that sent every vehicle in the lot shooting thirty feet into the air, where she caught them with her metalbending and held them there.

The darkness in her wanted to flip them all over and throw them back down, but she felt her eyes flicker with resistance. She couldn't do this. Couldn't allow this to happen when she knew what the intention was. When she knew that the point was to debilitate as many police cars as possible, so that the Triad would meet the least amount of resistance when trying to take over the city. It's not what _Korra_ wanted.

The severe pain that accompanied the flashing of her eyes cut through her strength, and she nearly dropped every car she was holding. It caused a spike of panic in her chest, distracting her from her raging internal battle. The distraction hardly lasted a moment, but it was enough for the flickering to cease and the darkness to come out on top. Using her metalbending, Korra motioned a circle with her hands to flip the cars upside down, and instead of slamming them down, she simply let go. The vehicles dropped, smashing back to earth on their roofs with a collectively deafening crash. Several of the alarms went off, and before anyone could come out and catch her, she was flying through the air again.

This journey only rocketed Korra a short distance away, and she dropped to her feet in front of the Republic City Prison. The corruption in her tried to take a step forward, but Korra resisted. She didn't want to go in. Didn't want to release the prisoners and cause more of a distraction for the police. At her defiance, Korra felt the darkness in her grow frustrated. Every time she fought, and the harder she fought, the worse the pain. This wasn't happening before, when she'd first started getting urges. It didn't hurt like it did now that she was doing everything she could to resist.

No matter how hard she tried, the darkness forced her to take a step. She bypassed her glowing red eyes in the windowed doors and walked into the prison, blasting the guard at the front desk with air that threw him back against the wall and knocked him unconscious. Because it was night and every cop had been needed in the city, the guard was the only one who could've kept Korra from bypassing the front desk. She strode past it and into the cellblock.

The first cell she reached, she stopped in front of, meeting the eyes of a curious prisoner. Without saying anything, she metalbent the bars apart and created a space large enough for him to squeeze through. He didn't bother acknowledging her as she moved on to the next cell, and after he'd wedged through, he ran out the exit. That's what all the prisoners did as Korra went down the line, bending cells open to release each and every one of them. It wasn't until she got to the very end, the last cell, that the familiar name on the man's jumpsuit caught her eye. Sato.

She refrained from bending his bars apart, and instead, grabbed them casually in her hands as she peered in at him. "Hiroshi Sato…" she said, glowing eyes illuminating the dark cell in a dim red. "Dirtbag father of the year."

His eyebrows furrowed with offense. "Who are you?"

"Friend of Asami's," Korra answered. "Good friend. Close friend. More than friend." The darkness bent a small chunk of bar from the cell, turning it to liquid between her hands. "She doesn't get to have enough fun because of you. It's all work, work, work, all the damn time. You know she feels responsible for paying back everything you stole?" And though the words leaving Korra's mouth might have represented something close to what she felt, the hostility dripping from her voice wasn't hers. The darkness was playing games. It was closing in on something close to her, something dear. "You tried to corrupt her. Tried to manipulate her." The metal in Korra's hands shifted, elongated into a sharp, pointed shard. "When all she wanted was to make you proud."

"Get out of here," Hiroshi said angrily, rising to pace toward her, but there was a hurt glimmer in his eyes that made the darkness in her sing.

Korra took in a deep breath, shouting harshly, "Do you have any idea what you put her through!?"

The darkness floated the sharp piece of metal above her palm, and Korra knew the objective. It wasn't just closing in on something dear. It was going to ruin her. Either to punish her for trying to resist control, or simply because it enjoyed it, it was going to kill Hiroshi and take her to a place she could never come back from. To a place that Asami would never forgive her of. It was going to ruin her relationship and her life and her heartbeat started racing with terror.

Hiroshi's tear-filled eyes glanced at the floor. "I've tried to call," he whispered.

"You don't deserve her!" Korra felt the darkness preparing to strike Hiroshi with the metal, and it caused the severe panic to flare in her chest. She couldn't. _Wouldn't_. And that panic resulted in a pain worse than she'd felt all night as her eyes flashed bright white.

The metal clattered to the floor, and the agony in her head was so debilitating that she fell to her knees, collapsing forward to set her forehead against the ground. It was the most excruciating thing she'd ever felt in her life, but it was better than letting the darkness win. The pain was worth fighting what she was about to do. So she fought. She forced herself to stay in the Avatar state no matter how many times in that brief minute her eyes flashed red. No matter how much her head felt like it would explode and no matter how hard it got to breathe. She fought. Until the darkness backed off and left her a panting mess on the floor, but at least it was _her_.

Korra stayed buckled over with her head against the stone for a minute. While she recovered, there was a warm tickle beneath her nose. She touched her fingertips to it, drawing them away to find they were stained with blood.

Hiroshi poked her shoulder, saying cautiously, "hey."

The white was gone. Aside from the blood, for now the struggle and pain were gone too, and all Korra felt was guilt and panic. "I'm sorry," she murmured hastily, wiping the blood away from her nose and using the bars to struggle to her feet. "I shouldn't be here." She turned, intent on hurrying out of the prison before she could lose control again.

But Hiroshi stretched his arm farther through the bars and caught her hand, saying pleadingly, "Wait."

She didn't know if he'd been able to tell what she was about to do, but she was so ashamed of it that she couldn't bring herself to look at him. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. I need to leave."

"Please," Hiroshi begged, but he let go of Korra's hand. "Does Asami-" He faltered, and even though Korra wasn't looking at him, he swallowed so hard that she could hear it. "Does she hate me?"

Korra took in a slow breath, gathering the courage to meet his gaze. "I don't think so," she answered, feeling a pang of guilt for the severe sadness in his expression. "But you hurt her, Mr. Sato. You hurt her bad."

A tear finally forced its way from his eye, and he lifted a hand to wipe the back of it across his cheek. "I wrote her a letter," he said quietly. "I never mailed it because I was hoping she'd let me say it in person." He left the front of the cell for the desk at the back of it, retrieving an envelope. "Will you give it to her?" he asked, holding the letter through the bars. "Please. Maybe she won't ignore it if it's hand delivered."

Korra wasn't sure if she wanted to give Asami the letter, or if Asami would want to read it, but that wasn't her choice to make. "If she ever talks to me again," Korra agreed with a sigh, taking the letter and putting it into her pocket. "I hurt her too."

"Thank you," Hiroshi said, with a genuine gratefulness in his tone.

Korra nodded, but she could feel the tension in her core. Could feel that she'd have to keep fighting for control and she didn't want to be here. Without saying anything else, she hurried back out the entrance of the prison, wracking her brain for an idea and trying to think of something she could do. Something to help her remain herself. It had been so long since anyone had bending that she wasn't sure there was anyone she could ask. The airbenders, maybe, but she didn't have time. Her speech was in the morning and she only had a few hours to figure this out. There might even be less time than that if she lost control again.

What did the old Avatars used to do? They had teachers and trainers, but there had to be times when no one else could do anything. Then what? It had been so long ago, but she thought back to history classes, trying to remember what she'd been taught.

As an idea came to mind, Korra stopped walking on instinct, and glanced up at the building she'd been about to pass – the public library. She recalled seeing pictures of the Avatar meditating. It wasn't something she'd ever tried herself, she preferred using her body to sitting still and thinking, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Though the city was calming down, there were still sirens going off in the distance and still people out and about. The library seemed like the place she'd get the most quiet without going home. Besides, who would want to loot a library?

Korra tried the door, but it was locked tight. Striding around the edges of the building, she glanced upward, noticing an open window up on the second floor. She couldn't necessarily climb to it… but she _had_ thrown a grown man that high with her earthbending…

"Okay," Korra muttered to herself, planting her feet firm on the ground. "Not scared of heights. Let's give this a try."

With one hard stomp, Korra lifted the earth beneath her with such force it sent her flying into the air. It shot her straight for the window, and to her relief, she caught herself on the lip of it and was able to climb through. She dropped to the inside, standing there for a moment to listen for any sign of another person. Not a sound. It was completely dark, so Korra lit a small flame in her palm to light the way as she headed down the stairs toward the library's center. It was silent enough inside that she probably could've dropped down and tried to meditate anywhere, but she could hear the soft flow of running water coming from a fountain in the middle of the building, and she was drawn to it.

Once she reached the fountain, she felt the pain in her head begin to intensify, and she was beginning to recognize it as a sign of coming struggle. Reluctant to keep fighting, to keep skirting as close to the edge of losing control as she had been because she was constantly losing, she immediately went into the Avatar state. It got easier the more she did it, and it did exactly what she'd hoped it would. It forced away the coming battle, gave her the edge she needed to remain in control that much longer. Sure, it was tiring. When she came out of it, it took a moment to regain her breath, and if she didn't find a solution in meditating, she'd probably have to keep going into the Avatar state to maintain the upper hand. But she'd do it. If this was the only way then she'd endure as long as she could, and go into it as many times as she had to until her body couldn't take it anymore.

The fire in Korra's hand had died when she went into the Avatar state, but she didn't need it for meditating, and she sat down beside the fountain. It wasn't completely obvious to her what she had to do, or what she was supposed to think about. She folded her legs beneath her and set the backs of her hands on her knees like she'd seen in the pictures. Even though it was dark, she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to try and relax, but it wasn't as easy as she'd hoped.

The darkness that the Blue Lotus had forced into her loathed the quiet peace of the library. It didn't want to be here, and even though she was in control, it made her restless. A flare of tension tightened in her chest, but instead of panicking at the thought of losing it, she took another deep breath. She focused on inhaling and exhaling, and on her heartbeat, and that sense of calm furthered her control. There was still tension, still a struggle she could feel boiling beneath the surface, but for now, she was in charge.

It took a long couple of minutes for Korra to relax enough, and to stop thinking about what she should do or what was supposed to happen. It seemed to happen without her knowing it, without her even realizing that she'd relaxed enough, but suddenly, she was somewhere new. In a small city, watching a thief steal food and run from a few guards. His name was Wan, and even though they'd never met, she recognized him. She knew him.

The vision took her from the city, to where Wan got firebending. She followed him away from his home and through a forest wrought with dangerous plants and animals and spirits. She watched him befriend spirits, and then leave to seek out lion turtles to give him other elements. The journey took him to his first meeting with Raava, to a battle where she and a dark spirit were destroying a valley. The spirit's name was Vaatu, and he was everything that Raava wasn't.

Though Korra wasn't sure why her subconscious had taken her here, or why her past lives wanted her to see this, she continued through the vision. She watched Wan free Vaatu, and then watched him and Raava track Vaatu down and become friends. In seeing this journey through to the end, Korra saw how the Avatar was created. Saw how fusing with Raava almost killed Wan, and how, together, they defeated Vaatu and trapped him in the hollow of that tree.

Feeling like she'd exhausted all the information she could from meditation, Korra returned to her fully conscious state. The first thing she registered upon opening her eyes was that the lights in the library were on. It made her heart skip with panic, thinking someone was here and she was in danger. Then her eyes met a pair of familiar green ones and widened in shock.

"Asami?" Korra said in surprise. Asami was leaning back against the checkout counter, arms folded across her chest while she'd been watching over Korra. "How'd you find me?" Asami nodded behind her, and she turned just in time for Naga's tongue to go straight up the front of her face. "Hey, girl," Korra said, shoving Naga's massive head away. "How'd you get in?" she asked as she rose to her feet.

As she did, Asami unfolded her arms, revealing that she was wearing the electric glove she'd created. And Korra knew it wasn't for safety during the ride over. "Back door was unlocked," she answered emotionlessly.

Korra deserved it, and she knew that, but the clear defensiveness put a pang in her chest. "It's _me_ ," she said gently, taking a cautious step forward. "I promise." There was no response, and though it was good that Asami wasn't so uncomfortable as to react, the unreadable expression on her face was agonizing. She was being so guarded, like she didn't trust that Korra was truly herself. "Asami," Korra whispered, taking another step forward as guilty tears flooded her eyes. "I'm sorry." She sniffled, feeling a drop cascade down her cheek when Asami let her get close enough to touch. "I'm _so_ sorry." It took a long, tense moment while Asami simply stared at her with distrust, but when another tear fell from Korra's eye, Asami's stony expression failed. Her eyebrows converged with the hurt she was so clearly trying to hide. "I didn't mean anything I said," Korra said, sniffling again. "It wasn't me. I never meant to hurt you, I'm so sorry, it wasn't me."

"I know," Asami answered. She swallowed hard, and at first, her only gesture of forgiveness was that she removed her glove and set it on the counter behind her. "But you did." Then she let out a heavy sigh, shaky with emotion, as she dropped her forehead against Korra's and closed her eyes. "Korra, you _did_. We can't ignore this anymore." Korra nodded. As she opened her mouth to respond, she set her hands on Asami's waist, but Asami stiffened at the touch. It cut Korra's response off short. "Just…" Asami began hesitantly. "I know you weren't yourself, but… just be extra gentle for a while." She put one hand to the center of her chest, so Korra would know she meant the emotional pain as she said, "It still kind of hurts."

Korra met her gaze, wondering if the lingering emotional pain wasn't all that she felt. She reached carefully for Asami's shoulder, and when Asami made no protest, she peeled her jacket and shirt back to expose it. Where Korra had bit down, Asami's shoulder was bruised, and there were faint red lines where she'd nearly broke skin. "I did that," Korra breathed, fresh guilt hitting her straight in the chest.

"And you told me not to be a wuss about it," Asami reminded. "And you called me a prude. And implied I was boring for not liking it."

Korra winced, and even though they both knew it hadn't been _her_ , she still felt entirely responsible. "I am so sorry, Asami," Korra said again, gently wrapping her arms around Asami's waist and pressing a bare, apologetic kiss to her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

It was such a huge relief when she felt Asami return the hug that she couldn't resist the urge to bury her face in Asami's neck. She didn't really know what else to say about it either – she could only apologize so many times before it lost meaning – and so she stayed there for a minute until Asami let her go.

"Thank you," Korra said, taking a step back to give Asami some space, because even if she was forgiven, she didn't want to push it. "For coming to find me. You didn't have to."

Asami shrugged. "Apparently I can be mad at you for being a dick and still worry about you."

Korra couldn't help but laugh a little, because she definitely deserved that, and there was an underlying playfulness to the jab. "You love me," she said teasingly.

"Yeah," Asami agreed, "I do."

In response, Korra was about to push up to press a soft, grateful kiss to her cheek. Before she could, that splitting pain returned. It pierced through her skull so suddenly that she grimaced, letting out an involuntary sharp cry.

"Korra?" Asami asked worriedly, reaching out for her shoulders.

"Don't," Korra warned through gritted teeth, taking another step back.

She closed her eyes, focused hard on what she needed to do, and felt a familiar burst of power swell in her chest. This time, however, the darkness didn't relent right away. It fought the Avatar state, trying more desperately than it had before to regain the control Korra had taken. It forced her to battle so hard that she went deeper into the Avatar state, surrendered herself more to it. When she did, a steady stream of air picked up around her, as though preparing an element for defense out of pure instinct. It took the better part of a minute, but she managed to fight it off. Returning to her normal state again left her more tired than it had the first two times. There was a steady fatigue in every muscle of her body and the headache remained a constant ache that pulsed behind her eyes.

"Korra?" Asami prompted again, and when Korra met her gaze, she saw that Asami had been preparing her electric glove.

"Keep that handy," Korra breathed, pointing at the weapon. "I don't know how long I can fight it like this."

"Fight what?" Asami asked. "Do you know what's happening to you?"

"If my eyes go red again," she said, ignoring the question because she had to say this first. Had to make sure Asami wouldn't let her do anything she'd regret if she lost control. "If you see red at all, or if I start acting up, I need you to promise me you'll use that… I'm dangerous, Asami."

"Okay," Asami replied, eyebrows furrowed with reluctant concern. "I promise." Korra nodded gratefully, still focusing on breathing to recover from that short burst, but when another moment passed without her offering any explanation, Asami repeated pleadingly, "Korra?"

"I don't know what's happening," Korra answered. "All I know is that going into the Avatar state helps me fight it, but it's getting worse, and more painful." Korra let out a heavy sigh, afraid of what was coming next. "Asami, I messed up."

Korra could see the deep worry in Asami's green eyes as she asked, "What did you do?"

"I, uh…" Korra's gaze fell to the floor, and she rubbed her hands over her face to try and ease the stress. "The Triple Threat Triad is going to try and kill Raiko during my speech in the morning." She felt that heavy stress seep into her core, filling her with a worry that they wouldn't be able to stop this. That Raiko would be killed and it would be all her fault. "I need your help," she said imploringly. "You, and Mako, Bolin and Opal." But it wasn't just Raiko, and lingering guilt about what she'd almost done at the prison caused her eyes to well with tears. "I screwed up, and I can't fix this alone."

"It's okay," Asami said gently, wrapping her arms around Korra's shoulders and pulling her into a hug. "We'll make sure nothing happens, and we'll figure out what's wrong with you. We'll fix all of it."

"There's more," Korra admitted, feeling her heartbeat speed up with fear about how Asami would react. "I went to the prison… I saw your dad."

Asami stiffened against her, and said nothing for a tense moment until she let Korra go and stepped back. " _Why_?" And there was an undeniable hint of betrayal in her voice, like she thought if Korra had left the estate to hurt her, then she must've gone to the prison to hurt her too.

"I didn't go there _for_ him," Korra said, sniffling. "But then I saw him, and I wasn't _me_ , but everything he put you through made me so angry." She took in a shaky breath, trying to steel herself so she could say, "I almost killed him." But she broke down, inhaling brokenly as more tears streamed down her face. "Whatever's inside me wanted to kill him and it didn't care how much it would hurt you, and I was so scared." She choked back a sob. "Asami, _I'm scared_. I don't know what'll happen if I lose control again and I don't want to hurt you and please, _please_ promise me you'll use the glove."

Asami reached out, pulling Korra back into her arms. For a long minute, she didn't say anything, just held Korra tight and let her cry from worry and stress and pain, hand running soothingly up and down her back to help calm her. "I won't let you hurt anyone," she said eventually, pulling back and pressing a kiss to Korra's forehead. "But, Korra, you can fight it. You were out all night on your own, and you fought it. _You_ did. You can do this." She took Korra's face in her hands, saying encouragingly, "All you have to do is hang in there until we figure out what's wrong. Until we know how to fix it."

Korra nodded, forcing down all the emotion and taking in a composing breath as she reached into her pocket. She retrieved the letter Hiroshi had asked her to deliver, and held it out. "He asked me to give this to you."

Asami took the letter, staring at her name on the front of the envelope like she wasn't entirely sure how to react. After a few moments, with hardly any reaction at all, she folded it up and stuffed it into her pocket. Korra wanted to ask, wanted to offer support when she read it or give her someone to vent to if she didn't, but it didn't feel appropriate. It didn't feel like her place to ask, especially given everything she'd done tonight. But even though she didn't say it, Asami could read the question on her face.

"I will," Asami said with a tinge of sadness in her voice. "Just not now. There's too much going on."

"If you want to talk about it…" Korra offered, and Asami nodded her thanks. There was a long beat of silence between them, after which Korra prompted timidly, "Asami?" Asami hummed that she was listening. "We're okay, right?" And she didn't like the heavy feeling in her heart, so she added with a hopeful half-smile, "Because I'll brew as many venti macchiatos as it takes to make it up to you."

The soft laugh Asami let out was enough to put Korra's mind at ease, but she said anyway, "We're okay." After a pause, she added teasingly, "But I wouldn't complain about a macchiato. I do have a weakness for hot coffee."

"And baristas," Korra reminded, glad that Asami's smile widened with amused agreement. As Korra's own smile faded, she sighed and glanced at Naga, who was patiently sitting near the fountain. "I guess we should go back to your place and figure this all out."

At Asami's consent, they left the library and hopped into Naga's saddle to start the journey back to the Sato estate. It was almost light out now, and Korra realized she'd been meditating a lot longer than it had felt. During the silence of the ride, she finally had time to reflect on everything she'd seen and experienced during meditation. There had to have been a reason she'd seen what she did. It couldn't have been for nothing. So what about it was important?

Raava was what made the Avatar, and she was where Korra got her power. But the other half of that vision, Vaatu, he was something else. He was everything opposite of Raava. Where she was kind, he was unkind. Where she strove for peace, he relished conflict. Where she desired order, he basked in chaos. Chaos… Korra's eyes widened with realization.

Before the Blue Lotus took her, Shaozu had been going on and on about balance. About how the Avatar wasn't truly balanced and how he wanted to restore it. Raava and Vaatu were like two sides of the same coin; yin and yang; light and darkness, and surely one couldn't exist without the other, just like Shaozu had said. That had to be what he'd meant – that Korra, her Avatar spirit, wasn't in balance with Raava alone. He wanted Vaatu. The Blue Lotus had forced a second fusion with Vaatu in order to bring balance to the Avatar… but the first fusion with Raava had almost killed Wan. Not even one spirit was meant to exist within a human body. And the headaches and the nosebleed…

As they reached the Sato estate, Korra understood. She knew what had been done to her and she knew now what she needed to do. She needed to figure out how to get Vaatu out of her, and until then, she had to keep going into the Avatar state so Raava would remain in control, allowing her to be herself. Naga stopped outside the main entrance of the large house, and Korra jumped down after Asami.

"Asami," Korra prompted, feeling a conflicting sense of relief and panic. "I know what's wrong with me." Asami's eyebrows rose with surprise, and Korra tried her best to keep the intense fear she felt off her face as she said gravely, "and I think it's killing me."


	10. Chapter 10

*** Just want to say thanks for being so patient about the updates. You guys are the best :)

…..

Asami's face twisted with extreme worry as she asked, "What do you mean it's killing you?"

Korra explained about Vaatu, and Wan, and the headaches and the nosebleed and how she thought maybe the airbenders could help, and by the time she was done, the worry on Asami's face had shifted to genuine fear.

"Okay…" Asami said with concern. "So we'll leave the city this morning, and we'll go to the airbenders and see if they know anything."

"I can't leave yet, Asami," Korra answered guiltily. "We have to protect Raiko."

"Yeah, but if you're not here then there's no speech," Asami said urgently. "No speech and Raiko isn't in danger."

Korra shook her head, taking in the pained look on Asami's face. She hated doing this, hated making Asami worry about losing her when she'd already been through so much in her life. Korra was scared too, but if she was the Avatar, then she was going to have to start making hard choices. She had to get the people to calm down, that way the police could focus on protecting Raiko if the Triple Threats tried to attack him outside the speech. Then she could focus on helping herself.

"The Triple Threats will find him," Korra said. "The people need to know what's happening. They need to know that everything's going to be okay."

"They won't feel like everything's okay if they see Raiko get assassinated," Asami argued. "And if they find out it's because of you? What do you think they'll do then?"

"What else do you want me to do?" Korra asked desperately. "What are my options? _All_ of this is because of me, and I have to do something."

Asami opened her mouth to reply, but Korra felt a familiar agony flare in her skull, and her cry of pain cut Asami off. Before the darkness could even get a chance to really try and take over, Korra went into the Avatar state. It was just like before, she fought for control while the Avatar state gave her an edge, and by the time it was over, she was tired and out of breath. She straightened out of her buckled-over pose and met Asami's gaze, and she could tell that they both knew she wouldn't be able to keep this up forever. She didn't even know if she could keep it up for an entire day, because every time she went into the Avatar state, it sapped her of energy, and after a while she probably wouldn't even have the energy to keep fighting.

Asami sighed, concerned eyes scanning Korra's face. "You can't expect me to sit by and watch this destroy you."

"Then don't," Korra answered, reaching out to take Asami's hand pleadingly. "Help me put the peoples' minds at ease. Help me get Raiko out of the danger _I_ put him in. Then we'll go and find a way to end this."

As Asami nodded her reluctant consent, the front door of the mansion opened, and they turned to see Mako. "There you are," he said, glancing past them at Naga with her saddle on. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Just got back," Korra answered. "Are Bolin and Opal awake?" Though Mako looked confused about where they'd been, and there was some unexplainable suspicion in his eyes, he nodded, and so Korra started up the stairs to meet him. "We need to talk."

She headed past him and into the house, and she and Asami waited in the foyer for Mako to retrieve Bolin and Opal. Eventually, they were all gathered, and Korra went through the details once more, telling them everything she'd told Asami. Telling them about Vaatu, and how one fusion with a spirit was dangerous and that this second one was probably killing her, and how she had to keep going into the Avatar state to fight it off. Each of them appeared deeply concerned by the time she'd finished, but she still hadn't even told them about Raiko.

"So where did you and Asami go?" Mako asked after she finished telling them about Vaatu. "Were you looking for a solution?"

Korra let out a heavy breath, shaking her head. "I wasn't in control the whole night," she explained. "I set something in motion, and now I need your help to stop it."

"Whatever it is," Opal offered, "We got you."

Korra didn't meet any of their gazes as she said, "I went to the Triple Threats." When there was no immediate response, she glanced up to look at them. Bolin's eyebrows converged with confusion, Opal appeared afraid, but Mako stiffened, eyes narrowing at Korra with some mix of anger and disappointment. She tried to ignore the pang of that look while she added, "My speech is in a few hours… they'll try to kill Raiko while he's on stage with me."

Jaws dropped, but Mako was the first to recover. "I'm calling Chief," he said, turning to head to another room and make the call.

"You can't," Korra said, feeling a mild panic as she rushed forward to stop him.

"I have to," he argued. " _You_ put the president of Republic City in danger and we need police help to make sure he's safe."

The level of accusation in his tone made Korra glare. "That's why I'm asking you guys for help," she said in annoyance.

"We might not be enough," Mako said. "I'm calling Beifong and telling her what's going on."

"So they can lock me up for attempted murder?" Korra asked angrily, voice rising in volume. "What good will that do?"

"Maybe it'll do _some_ good," Mako stated in frustration. "You've been acting weird, and I heard you and Asami fighting last night. You're unstable, Korra."

"I'm unstable because there's a dark spirit trying to control me!" she shouted. "It's _killing_ me, and _you_ want to throw me in a _cell_!"

"Guys," Asami tried to interject.

"That's not what I _want_!" Mako hollered in exasperation. "But I'm a _cop_ , I can't just not say anything!"

"Guys!" Asami said again, slipping her electric glove on.

Korra turned with worry, about to tell her that she was under control and didn't need to get shocked. But then she saw what Asami was trying to say. Bolin had rushed to the window that looked out over the front of the estate, and through it, Korra could see a collecting group of cars and motorcycles. She recognized two of the people that had arrived – it was the Triple Threats, and there were at least twenty of them. A confused but concerned look passed between all five of them, and they hurried out the front door to meet the gathering gangsters.

The leader got off his motorcycle, taking a few steps forward while his lackeys dismounted their own bikes or got out of the couple cars. "Nice digs, Avatar," he said smugly, glancing around at the exterior of the mansion. "We might have to move in after we take the city."

"How'd you find me?" Korra asked sternly.

Before the leader could answer, from behind her, Bolin murmured, "Oh, no." They all glanced at him, but he was staring at one of the gang members in particular.

That particular gang member shrugged, saying with a world of insincerity, "Sorry, Bo."

Korra looked at Bolin again, and he explained to each of them, "Shady Shin called last night to ask if Mako and I wanted back in now that everyone has bending, and I was excited that Korra was the Avatar and we were staying in Asami's nice house and… I might've… told him all that…" In response to the scowls on their faces, he threw his hands up in exasperation. "How was I supposed to know Korra would go and make a deal with them?" And under his breath, he muttered, "I still can't even believe it…"

Korra sighed and turned back to the leader. "What do you want?"

"I was thinking more about your change of heart," he replied. "See, you made a real attractive proposition last night… and I was concerned you'd try to interfere since you changed your mind." He clicked his tongue, saying nonchalantly, "I couldn't let that happen." As he finished, all of the Triple Threats readied their elements and weapons. They'd come to kill Korra – that much was clear. "I saw what you did with the police cars, though. To show my gratitude, I'll let your friends live if they walk away."

Out of the corner of her eye, Korra saw Mako's head swivel to look at her. "What did you do to the police cars?" he asked in shocked irritation.

"Not a good time, Mako," Korra grumbled, eyes still locked on the Triple Threat's leader. They stared each other down for a long span of seconds, as if he was giving Korra time to accept his offer and let her friends walk away. But she knew they wouldn't even if she asked them to.

"Suit yourself," the leader said.

Korra reacted just fast enough to dodge the first rock that was hurled straight at her head. It crashed through a window of the house, and all five of them, and Naga, dove right into the skirmish. Korra stayed close to Asami to fight at her side. She dodged a ball of fire thrown by a woman a good distance away, and then stomped on the ground, lifting a pillar of rock that hit the woman in the gut. Hardly a moment later, she turned just in time to punch through a sharp shard of ice, and in the same instant, Naga went soaring over her head. The polar bear dog caught a chunk of rock like it was a tennis ball, whipped her head to the side to toss it away and then jumped straight onto the assailant who'd thrown it.

There was so much happening as each of them was outnumbered at least four to one, and every move Korra made was more instinct than conscious reaction. She bent up a small wall to protect herself from a hurled boulder, then punched it in half and kicked it at a waterbender who'd already streamed a jet in her direction. She didn't dodge the water in time, and it collided so hard with her chest that it sent her careening backward. The moment she hit the pavement, Asami's hand clasped around her forearm, yanking her back to her feet.

Asami ducked, lowering herself nearly to the ground and turning as she did, kicking a foot out to knock another nonbender's legs out from under him. While Asami grabbed the man with her glove to render him unconscious, Korra noticed an earthbender with a heavy rock poised above his head, getting ready to smash Asami in the back with it. His arms were raised to hold it, which left his entire abdomen exposed, and so before he could throw his earth at Asami, Korra collected a pool of water from the ground and surged it toward him. It hit him in the stomach, and the shock of it caused him to drop his hold on the rock and let it fall directly onto his head. He hit the ground instantly, but just as Korra turned to make sure Asami was okay, that electric glove shot right past her ribs. It zapped sparks into the torso of a woman who'd been about to burn Korra with a powerful blast, and the fire died in her hands as she dropped.

Korra gave Asami a shared smile, but there was no time to comment on how good of a team they made. They were still outnumbered, they'd both already taken hits and the other three weren't faring much better. They couldn't last like this, and the Triad wasn't here just to slow them down and knock them out. The goal was to kill. Korra had to do something before she couldn't do anything.

By now, going into the Avatar state was easy. She knew exactly how, and she _did_ right as an airbender punched a blast directly at her. Her eyes glowed that bright white, and the air that the bender had tried to hit her with was like a breeze compared to the gusting that surrounded her, and that lifted her six feet off the earth. But she was only in the Avatar state for a moment before she felt it. Felt the flare of pain accompanied by the darkness trying to take control.

 _No_ , Korra thought, _not now_. Not when their lives were in danger. The pain was so severe that it cut through her control of the elements and she plummeted, only managing to catch herself right before she hit the ground, so that when she did, it was softly. Through the agony in her head, she saw a stream of water coming straight for her. She pushed away the pain, focused past it just long enough to redirect the water back at its sender. But that waterbender wasn't the only one who noticed Korra's sudden vulnerability.

As she struggled to her feet, fighting to keep control of herself, she watched every bender who wasn't preoccupied with fighting one of her friends zero in on her. She'd just become the prime target, and she knew she had to finish this fast or risk losing herself to either the darkness or death. Gathering every bit of strength and control she had, she focused intensely on two tasks – fighting the pain and fighting the benders. She shot into the air, eyes glowing bright as she dodged and retaliated for the sudden onslaught of elements being thrown at her.

Every piece of earth, every blast of fire or air or water, she manipulated, but every time she knocked a bender down, another got right back up. Nor could her friends come to help her, because they were in the same predicament. So the next time she knocked an earthbender down, she ripped a piece of metal veneer from the side of the house, wrapped it tight around their middle to trap their arms at their sides, and she turned to the next. Piece after piece of metal she curled around earthbenders, settling on using rock for the other remaining benders, until every single one of the Triad members was wriggling in their restraints.

It wasn't a call for celebration once she was done, because now that she could focus beyond self-defense, the pain was excruciating. She didn't even have the strength and focus to fall gently to the ground this time. She smacked down hard, rising to her knees to clutch at her head, trying to ease it so she could stay in control. Only, the pain wasn't just in her head anymore. It was in her chest, throbbing with every beat of her heart so that it didn't just feel like her head would explode, but like her heart would burst too.

Groaning, Korra curled into herself, hands falling from her head so she could wrap her arms around her middle. She felt her eyes start to flicker from white to red, but she wouldn't surrender to it, no matter how badly it hurt. As long as she had the strength, she wouldn't give up. It only lasted another minute, and then the darkness backed down and left her alone.

She was exhausted, gasping for air as the constricting pain left her chest. Her blue eyes were full of agonized tears, and she sniffled to rid the moisture that had spread into her sinuses, but it brought the coppery smell of blood. As she met the worried eyes of her friends, she wiped the back of her hand beneath her nose. The bleeding was worse than the first time. Not just a single drip, but enough that a spatter fell from her chin to the ground beneath her.

"Korra?" Asami asked quietly, maintaining a few feet's distance and tense with her glove still active.

"It's me," Korra panted reassuringly. Her shoulders slumped, head drooping tiredly as she continued to recover breath. She couldn't do that again, couldn't go into the Avatar state to fight two battles at once because, next time, she was certain she'd only win one of them. She stayed kneeling there for another minute while she recovered, and then struggled to her feet and staggered to the Triple Threat's leader. "Call off the attack," she ordered weakly.

"You don't look so good," he said amusedly, as if he hadn't just lost the fight and wasn't trapped. Still, Korra reached up to thumb the remaining blood from her nose. "It's happening, Avatar," the leader said in response to her order. "If not this morning, then later today. We'll take this city before it recovers."

"Have fun dreaming about it from prison," Korra countered, and immediately turned to her friends. "Mako," she said, loud enough for the Triple Threats to hear, "call the Chief."

She paced back to the front steps of the house, where her friends gathered so they could talk now without the gangsters hearing. As she did, she stole a look around the exterior of the estate. Everything was ruined. The ground was all torn up, she'd completely stripped the house of its metal, and rocks had been thrown through windows and smashed into the now-broken walls. This was her fault too. If it weren't for her, the Triple Threats never would've come here. Never would've destroyed parts of this expensive home that would take a lot of money to fix when Asami was already stressed about Future Industries' finances.

The thought was put from her mind when she reached her friends. "Are you sure?" Mako asked quietly. "I know I said maybe a cell wouldn't be that bad… but Viper's right. You don't look very good."

Korra glanced back at the leader, Viper. "Yeah," she answered. "The less Triple Threats on the streets today, the better. If Beifong has to know what I did, then so be it."

"She doesn't necessarily," Opal put in, receiving curious looks from each of them. She motioned to Mako and Bolin. "You guys used to be Triple Threats. Why can't you just tell my aunt that you got an anonymous tip from an old friend? Then Korra can still give her speech and protect Raiko."

"And what do we tell the police about why they tried to attack us?" Korra asked.

Asami nodded toward Korra, saying, "The Avatar's a threat to them no matter what. It makes sense that they'd want to take you out before trying to take over the city, especially if they thought we'd been tipped off about the assassination."

"Mako?" Korra prompted, because this plan still involved him lying, and that wasn't usually how he operated.

He gave a hesitant shrug. "If that's what I have to do." He paced into the house for a minute to make the call, and then came back out as he was putting his cell phone back into his pocket. "It's going to take a while for them to get a van or two out here to pick all these guys up." Mako shot a slightly exasperated look at Korra. "Apparently someone destroyed a bunch of police cars last night…"

"It wasn't _me_ ," Korra said defensively.

"Anyway," he said dismissively, clearly not wanting to argue anymore, which Korra was grateful for, seeing as she didn't have the energy for it. "If you want to go inside and rest, we can keep an eye out here until Chief Beifong comes."

Korra passed a smile around, feeling more than ready to get off her feet. "Thanks."

As she started heading back inside, she heard a pair of footsteps follow after her. It was Asami, who asked while walking at her side, "Are you hungry?"

"Starving, actually," Korra answered, and followed Asami into the kitchen. When they reached it, she dropped down on a stool at the island in the middle, grateful when Asami started pulling a large pizza out of the freezer.

"You know I can't cook, so…" Asami began as she started up the oven. "I hope this is okay."

"It's perfect," Korra said, propping her tired head up in her hands. She released a soft sigh, saying apologetically, "I'm sorry about the house." Asami simply shrugged as she put the pizza in the oven, though Korra knew it was just so she wouldn't feel guiltier than she already did. "I'll help you fix it."

Asami nodded, and Korra didn't know what else to say and she was too tired to try, so she folded her arms over the surface of the island and dropped her head onto them. There was the faint sound of footsteps as she assumed Asami was moving around to get a drink, but then a pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind. Asami leaned into her back and rested her chin over Korra's shoulder to nuzzle into her. After everything they'd been dealing with, the embrace was so soft and warm, and it felt so good that Asami was being affectionate again. It was forgiving and trusting, and Korra let out a deeply relieved breath, feeling exhausted tears flood her eyes.

"You have a few hours before your speech," Asami said gently, not releasing her hold. "Maybe you should sleep."

Sleep sounded amazing. She hadn't had a decent night of it in the two nights since the portal had been opened. "I can't," Korra answered disappointedly. "Last time I fell asleep, I wasn't myself when I woke up…"

Asami let go with one arm, bringing it between them to rub her hand over Korra's back. "You can't stay awake forever."

Korra shook her head with agreement. "I just have to stay awake long enough not to completely ruin the city." She paused, and then added gloomily, "Long enough not to completely ruin us."

"Korra," Asami said soothingly, leaning forward enough to press a soft kiss to Korra's cheek. "I don't know about you, but when I told you I loved you, I meant it."

Despite her tired state and the stress, an involuntary smile reached Korra's lips, and she picked up her head and turned enough to meet Asami's gaze. "I meant it too."

"Then it'll take more than some dark spirit to mess this up," she said. "I'm with you, and I've got your back, and we'll figure this all out before it's too late. Don't worry about us, okay? I'm not going anywhere."

Korra leaned in, pressing a slow, grateful kiss to Asami's lips, and it was comforting enough that she almost truly believed they'd fix everything before it was too late. "Thank you."

Asami's hand made one more soothing pass over Korra's back before she turned for a cupboard. "You want some tea?"

Korra nodded, and Asami made her tea and cut her some pizza when it was finished so she could eat. Only once during the next couple hours did she have to go into the Avatar state again, but it was getting more difficult. That fight had drained her of so much energy, energy she probably didn't have in the first place because she was sleep deprived, and she could only imagine what having two spirits in her was doing to her physically. That had to be why she wasn't recovering. Why her stamina was gone and going into the Avatar state left her completely out of breath and weak. Eventually they had to leave and head back into the city, and all Korra could hope was that she didn't have an episode while she was addressing the people.

If she were honest with herself, she'd admit she was a little surprised that Raiko still agreed she go through with the speech even knowing his life was in danger. Regardless, he was there when she and Asami showed up on Naga, with Mako, Bolin, and Opal on two of the Triple Threat's motorcycles behind them. At least half of Republic City's police force was there too, along with television crews and news reporters and a _lot_ more civilians than Korra expected. She wasn't sure how word got out so quickly that she and Raiko had an important announcement, but there had to be at least a thousand people. It was good that there were so many police officers with that big of a crowd, because they'd need as many eyes as they could get to keep an eye out for Triple Threat assassins. Everyone else would probably be watching from whatever televisions in the city that hadn't been broken or looted. So much for a simple press conference…

When they were ready, she followed Raiko on stage, along with her friends so they could help her keep an eye out. She sat down in a chair near the podium, unable to entirely focus on what Raiko was saying because she was too preoccupied with scanning the crowd for threats and running through everything she'd prepared to say. He gave some shallow gratitude for everyone remaining calm overnight, which Korra tried not to roll her eyes at, told them he needed their help to get the city back in order and promised government officials were doing everything they could, and then he introduced Korra as the Avatar.

Recognizing that as her cue, she stood and wandered to the podium, trying not to think about how many pairs of eyes were on her or about the fact that Raiko would probably never trust her with anything public ever again if she screwed this up. "Hello, everyone," she said into the microphone, "I'm Korra." The blank stares caused her to swallow nervously, but she reminded herself to stick to what she'd rehearsed. To what Asami, who was practiced at public speeches, had helped her to prepare. "I want to start by explaining exactly what's going on," she continued. "I found the southern spirit portal a couple days ago, and when I touched it, it opened. That's what's given a lot of you bending, and what's made me the Avatar."

While she spoke, her eyes were constantly moving over the crowd, watching for weapons or bent elements or anyone who looked dangerous. "I know yesterday was frightening," Korra said to the people, feeling a cooling sweat dampen her forehead with the start of an ache behind her eyes. She was nervous, but she wasn't _that_ distraught, and knowing where the tension was coming from, she silently pleaded for the darkness to hold off just a few more minutes. "None of us were prepared for what happened, but the world has been out of balance since the last Avatar died. If you all give this time, and trust in your city's leaders and we help each other adjust, things won't just return to normal. It'll be better than it was before."

She opened her mouth to say the last few lines of the speech she'd prepared, but from the front row, a reporter interrupted with, "How do you know for sure?"

Korra blinked at him for a moment, struggling to understand the unexpected question and then to come up with an answer. "With the state of the world," Korra said, "it couldn't get much worse. The return of bending and spirits will-"

"But it got worse yesterday," another reporter interjected. "When you opened the portal."

"What were you doing there anyway?" another one called from the back. "I thought all the portals were closed and wiped off the maps."

"I was out," Korra answered, and with the stress of the sudden onslaught, she felt the ache in her head intensify. "And I just… found it."

"And you decided to _touch_ it?" another reporter asked in accusatory shock. "That seems kind of reckless. How do we know you won't be a reckless Avatar too?"

"I'm not reckless," Korra said, beginning to grow frustrated. "I just-"

"Who decided _you_ get to be the Avatar, anyway?" one of the previous reporters asked.

"No one decides," Korra spat in annoyance. She knew it had been a long time since there'd been an Avatar, but did people _really_ forget how it worked? "I didn't choose this."

As the first reporter asked, "What about spirits?" Korra noticed a man shoving through the crowd with a suspicious amount of urgency, and she started to panic. "How are we supposed to handle those?"

The ache was getting worse even though she was trying to fight it without having to go into the Avatar state, and the reporters were bombarding her with accusations and it looked like the attack was about to happen. Korra shot a look to her friends, nodding hastily toward the crowd to let them know.

"Look," Korra said impatiently. "We're not going to be able to have everything sorted out all at once."

Before she could continue, Raiko rose from his seat and paced over, setting a hand on her back to stop her. "What Avatar Korra is trying to say," he said into the microphone, but Korra tuned him out to search for the man that she'd seen in the crowd.

It took her a moment, but she found him, and she wasn't the only one who noticed. She could see police dodging through people to try and reach him, but they wouldn't get there in time. It didn't look like the man was preparing an element or like he had any weapons either, not until he reached into his coat pocket. Korra bent the water out of the cup on the inner shelf of the podium, preparing to hurl it at the man the moment he retrieved whatever weapon he had in his pocket. His hand came out, but he wasn't holding anything sharp or projectile. It was square, like a remote.

Like a detonator.

"Bomb!" Korra yelled.

She didn't even have time to think about it. She went into the Avatar state, grabbed Raiko and dove with him toward her friends as she bent a powerful shield of air around them. The moment she hit the ground, the explosion sounded from the podium. Fire engulfed the air bubble that protected them as the entire front of the stage was incinerated, and screams and panic erupted from the crowd.

The very second the fire died, Korra shot to her feet, eyes still glowing as she searched the chaotic crowd for the man who'd set the bomb off. There was no way she could see him through the smoke and the panic, and she didn't get to look for more than a moment before the pain reached excruciating. She screamed at the sudden agony, dropping to her knees and knowing already that she wouldn't be able to fight it this time. She was too tired, too weak, and though she stayed in the Avatar state, she felt her eyes start to flicker.

It was like the chaotic scene before her gave the darkness strength. It was pulling at her harder than it had yet, hurting her more than she thought possible. The constricting agony in her chest was a hundred times worse than it had been at the estate, and she could feel it rising. It wasn't just a physical pain that felt like it would explode. It was energy. The combined energy of the battle between light and dark inside her was reaching a proportion she couldn't contain, and though she had no idea how, she knew it would erupt if she didn't do something. It was swelling so erratically at her breast that she couldn't even curl into herself from pain. She couldn't keep her arms from tensing at her sides or every muscle in her body from clenching with the effort to hold it back. That thrumming energy would leave her chest if she didn't take action _now_.

"Korra?" Asami hollered over the screaming of the crowd and sirens and the fire on the stage. She had her glove on, blue sparks catching Korra's attention because Korra remembered what she'd asked. What she'd made Asami promise if she saw red.

"Do it," Korra muttered through gritted teeth. Asami reached for her shoulder. That painful static jolted through her veins for hardly a moment, and the last thing she saw before everything went black was the worry in Asami's soggy green eyes.


	11. Chapter 11

**** Just want to give you guys a heads up that we're nearing the end here. Bout two chapters left after this one. Alrighty, read on :)

…..

Korra woke with a start, the remnant blast of the explosion fresh in her mind as she tried to shield her head with her hands. Only, her hands wouldn't move. They were stuck behind her back, tied, and she jerked violently at the realization. The sudden panic of waking like this might've instinctively sent her into the Avatar state if a familiar voice didn't react almost instantly.

"Korra," Asami called gently. "You're safe."

And her heart was still pounding, but she stopped tugging and opened her eyes to see where she was. A jail cell. Couldn't say that was entirely unexpected, though she didn't know whether to be relieved or unimpressed at how she'd been bound. Her hands weren't tied, they were cuffed, and with metal she could have easily bent out of if she hadn't woken as herself. As she pushed herself up to sit and brought her knees to her chest, Asami swung open the cell door, pacing forward to kneel in front of her.

"Sorry," Asami said, lips pursed in an apologetic smile. "We weren't sure who you'd be when you woke up."

"It's okay," Korra said, glancing past Asami and out of the cell. "You did good."

From here, she could see the desks of the police station, and she was grateful that they hadn't locked her up in the prison, but rather in a temporary holding cell at the station. It made her feel less guilty in their eyes, though in her own she felt entirely culpable. Mako, Bolin, and Opal were posted at Mako's desk. Each of them was looking at her as Asami leaned over her to undo the cuffs, mouths turned down sullenly and eyes full of gloom. It was telling, the way they were watching her, which made Korra think about the bomb and the proximity of people to it, and her heart sank.

"Asami," she murmured, bringing her uncuffed hands around to rub at the indents they'd made in her flesh. Asami hummed that she was listening, but she already knew. She wouldn't look Korra in the eyes because she knew what Korra was going to ask. "Did anyone get hurt?"

Asami let out a soft sigh, and it took her a long few seconds before meeting Korra's gaze. "Yeah," she said with quiet reluctance. "No one's dead, but… there's some people in the hospital."

"How many?"

"Korra," Asami protested, but Korra watched her pleadingly until she muttered, "Eight."

Korra let out a stunted breath, setting her elbows on her knees and cradling her head in her hands as tears filled her eyes. All she'd ever wanted in life was to help people. Finding out she was the Avatar was supposed to be a gift, it was supposed to be the power she needed to make a difference in the world, but now eight people had been sent to the hospital, and who knows how many others had more minor injuries. It was lucky that she'd even been able to shield her friends and Raiko from the blast. If not, they'd all be dead. They'd almost been killed, and it was all because she'd convinced the Triple Threats it was a good idea.

"I did this," Korra whispered, sniffling as a tear cascaded down her cheek. "It's all my fault."

"Korra," Asami prompted, hands setting gently on her face. "You didn't do this. You didn't ask for Vaatu and you didn't ask for collateral damage."

Korra shook her head, feeling Asami whisk away a fresh tear. "I should've fought harder. Sooner. If I'd stayed in control like I have been…"

"You didn't know," Asami said. "And the attack is over and Raiko is fine. We can worry about saving _you_ now."

"They caught the guy?" Korra asked hopefully.

"No," Asami answered, "but-"

Korra's heavy sigh cut her off. The Triple Threat's leader had seemed determined to carry out the plan that Korra had presented him with, and they couldn't worry about saving her when Raiko was still in danger. Not when the assassin was out there and would surely try again. This was _her_ mess, and she couldn't leave until it was finished. She wouldn't turn her back on her city.

She took in a deep breath, forcing down all the emotion because now wasn't the time for it, not if she wanted to figure out how to save Raiko _and_ herself. Whatever they were going to do in order to solve this problem, they had to do it fast. Korra could feel her endurance fading. Could feel that she didn't have a lot of time or energy left before something would happen, something that she might not be able to recover from.

Asami hadn't said anything in response to Korra's sigh, but she knew Korra wouldn't leave until this was done, and the concern was clear in the crease of her brow and the downward curve of her mouth. So Korra reached up, cupped Asami's face and leaned forward to plant a soft kiss to her lips. "I'm going to be okay," she said. "I'm not done fighting yet." It felt like a lie. Korra was exhausted, the ache in her head had been constant since she woke, and her chest was burning with tension, but whether Asami knew that or not, she still smiled gratefully at the reassurance. "Could you…?" Korra prompted, dropping her legs and holding out a hand to ask for a boost. Asami stood and took her hand, hauling her to her feet. "Thanks," she said, and together they strode away from the cell and toward Mako's desk to meet the others.

"How are you feeling?" Opal asked as they reached them.

Korra shrugged, unsure of how to answer that question when she was struggling to maintain emotional composure and her body was on the verge of being completely done. After a moment, she settled for, "I'm alright."

"Alright?" Lin Beifong repeated as she walked up. "You look like death, kid."

"Yeah…" Korra murmured, "Thanks for the concern, Chief…" She glanced from Lin to Mako. "Any leads on the bomber?"

Mako shook his head. "He got away before anyone could catch him."

"You guys don't need to worry about it," Lin added. "Raiko's at home now, where he's safe." She nodded toward Korra. "What you should do is get her to the hospital. Seriously, Korra, you don't look good."

"I don't need a hospital," Korra said. "I need to fix this. Has anyone questioned Viper?"

"No," Mako began to say, "we didn't think he'd tell-"

"What's going on?" Lin interrupted suspiciously, and when each of them fell silent with obvious guilt, her eyes narrowed. "It's not all of your jobs to worry about Raiko, and I _know_ with the way Asami's been watching Korra the last hour that she wouldn't stand for not going to the hospital if it was an option." She made it a point to make stern eye contact with each and every one of them. "Somebody better tell me what's going on right now."

They all looked at Korra, reluctant to explain but not wanting to resist the Chief's demand. Korra didn't have the energy to explain everything all over again, so she sighed in defeat and motioned for Mako to say it. He told Lin everything that Korra had told them, about the Blue Lotus and Vaatu and how Korra had messed up the night before, and Korra had to admit that she was surprised when Lin's expression was more concerned than furious.

"It's killing you?" Lin asked Korra, who nodded. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know," Korra answered with a tired and hopeless shrug. "Go to an air temple, see if the monks there know any spiritual tricks that can help."

"An air temple is a long way to go for a maybe solution," Lin said. Korra knew that. She was reluctantly aware of the fact that going to an air temple might take more time than she had, but since it seemed like Lin had an idea, Korra stayed silent to let her finish. "I know a guy who might be able to help," Lin continued. "An old friend, Tenzin. You go flex your muscle as the Avatar and get information from Viper about where to find this assassin, and by the time you're done, I'll have Tenzin here."

"Okay," Korra answered, feeling something like a flicker of hope. If Tenzin had a solution, then she might live through this after all. "Thank you."

After Lin nodded, Korra and her friends hurried out of the police station. She and Asami hopped into Naga's saddle, while the other three rode the motorcycles they'd taken from Triple Threats the couple blocks to the prison. It was easy enough to get in when Mako flashed his badge and said they were there on orders from the Chief, but after the guard told them which cell and they started to head past the front desk, Asami froze in place.

"Asami?" Korra prompted, halting progress and retreating to where she'd stopped. "What's wrong?" But as the words left her mouth, Asami leaned to get a glimpse into the prison, and Korra knew what was wrong. Hiroshi Sato was in there, and whether Asami wasn't ready to see or speak to him, or whether she just didn't want to deal with it _now_ , she was hesitating. "You don't have to come," Korra said softly.

Asami's green eyes met hers, and with how worried Asami had been about her, she recognized the reluctance to separate. Especially when Asami glanced down toward the pocket she'd stored her electric glove in. She was the best alternative when Korra couldn't keep control, and she was clearly worried about what would happen if she weren't around. "Will he be able to see me?"

Korra glanced behind her at the cells, trying to remember exactly where Hiroshi's was. "No," she answered. "He's all the way at the end." There was another long moment of hesitation, so Korra reached out and set a comforting hand on Asami's shoulder. "I'll be okay."

During the next few seconds, Asami scanned her face, and for some reason, she didn't appear to believe those words as much as she had the first time. She didn't look relieved or to try offer any kind of smile. "I won't leave you," she said decidedly. "I'm coming."

From behind them, Mako cleared his throat. "Did you forget that you're on a time crunch?"

"No," Korra called over her shoulder, and pressed a brief kiss to Asami's cheek. "Come on."

All five of them paced into the cellblock, halfway down the row on the right side to where Viper was locked up. He must've heard their footsteps approaching, because by the time they reached his cell, he was already sitting up on his bed. It didn't necessarily seem like he'd been expecting _them_ , however, because the smile he'd had on his face faded the moment he saw Korra.

"Expecting someone to come bust you out?" Mako asked sarcastically.

Viper lay back on his bed, folding his hands behind his head casually. "There's still time."

"Call off the assassination," Korra demanded impatiently. Time was limited, and she wasn't going to deal with snark and sarcasm. Not when lives were on the line.

"That's not how it works, Avatar," Viper sneered, picking his head up to look at her. "You should've thought of that when you asked for the assassination."

"How much prison time you get for attacking us at the Sato Estate?" Korra asked. "Maybe I'll double it."

"You don't have the authority," Viper chuckled, sitting up again.

Mako scowled, saying in irritation, "We know people who do."

Viper simply shrugged. "So? I'll still get broken out as soon as Raiko's killed."

Korra growled her frustration, looking at Mako and motioning to the cell door. "Open it."

His eyebrows converged with worry. "What are you going to-"

"Open it," she muttered, staring fiercely at Viper.

While Mako hurried back to the front desk to grab the keys, Korra and Viper stared each other down. He looked so confident and smug. She wanted nothing more than to punch that look right off his face, but she didn't want to resort to violence. That's not what the Avatar was for; it wasn't her job to intimidate thugs or beat them up until they told her what she wanted. Only, the longer they stared at each other, the more Viper grinned.

"Seriously, Avatar," he said nonchalantly, "What's wrong with you?"

He meant because she looked weak. She was leaning forward against the cell bars tiredly, and maybe the pain of the aches in her head and chest showed on her face. She was hot too. Could feel a sheen of tense sweat on her forehead and neck.

Mako returned, and as he opened the cell door, Korra answered, "What's wrong is I'm losing my patience." Once the door opened, she walked past it alone, taking an intimidating stride toward Viper. "If you can't call off the assassination, tell me where to find the killer."

"Yeah, right," he laughed.

Korra's jaw clenched angrily. She didn't have time for back and forth. She was deteriorating fast and every smartass word out of Viper's mouth ground her down that much more. There was no time for games. Even if she didn't want to resort to violence, she could at least try to scare him with it.

"Don't make me ask again," she muttered tensely.

"You think you scare me?" he asked defiantly, calling her bluff. "What are you going to do? You look like you can barely stand. Even if you could, what then?" He stood from his bed, stepping forward to tower over her in challenge. "You going to torture me?" He huffed a mocking breath at the idea. "You're the Avatar. You start doing things like that and you're as corrupt as the rest of us."

Korra was tired, and irritable, and probably dying, and she didn't have time for this. Whatever shred of patience she had left was gone, and she was so frustrated and restless that she wasn't even thinking anymore. Didn't have the heart or the will to fight in her present circumstance and she didn't want to die. It felt like second nature when she slipped into the Avatar state, but it wasn't _her_ Avatar state. It was Vaatu's, and instead of fighting it, she slipped into it with the intent of alliance. Not control or surrender, but partnership. She'd let the darkness do what it had to do, let it do what she couldn't, if it released her when she got what she needed. If it gave her what she needed to save her own life.

Her eyes lit up a bright red, and before anyone outside the cell could react to the sudden change, she flicked her wrist, metalbending the door shut and then twisting the inner workings of the lock so Mako couldn't open it again until she was ready.

"Korra!" Mako yelled, grabbing the bars and giving them a useless shake.

Korra grabbed the front of Viper's shirt in her fist, lifting him two feet off the ground with a single arm while her red eyes narrowed furiously. "Do I look like the Avatar to you?" she snarled, her voice not entirely her own. It held something deeper and more sinister, and Viper's eyes widened with fear. And this wasn't her, at the recesses of her mind, Korra _knew_ that this wasn't her. But when she stopped fighting the darkness, stopped battling with it for control, she found that it bent to her will even if its tactics were unfavorable. It was doing what she couldn't, what she didn't have time to do properly.

Viper's panicked eyes darted past Korra and to the others, who were tugging frantically at the door of the cell. "Get me out of here!"

Those weren't the words Korra wanted to hear, and she threw Viper toward the rear of the cell. He hit the wall with his back, collapsing to the floor and choking on the breath that had been knocked out of him. She'd show him what being breathless was truly like. She circled her hands in front of her, manipulating the air in his lungs, bending it upwards and out of his mouth. She whirled it in a sphered vortex around his head, creating a vacuum of space in which he couldn't breathe, and _now_ he was choking.

"Korra, stop!" Asami yelled.

"Bolin," Mako said frantically, "You're an earthbender. Get this open!"

"Is this what you wanted?" Korra's tainted voice asked over the grunts of Bolin trying to metalbend. "For me to force you."

"Fight it, Korra," Asami pleaded. "You don't want this."

"Bolin, hurry," Opal added.

Korra ignored all of them, telling Viper, "The assassin, Viper, I want to know where to find him." He clutched at his throat, trying to claw the invisible hold away, but it was no use. "Are you going to tell me now?" He nodded desperately, and she stopped the motion of her hands, letting the vortex die and finally allowing him to breathe. He fell forward with a heavy gasp, sucking deep, panicked breaths into his lungs. His chest and ribs heaved with the effort, and he wheezed for a minute before Korra said, "I'm waiting."

"A bar," he answered hastily, gulping another breath. "Grubby place with no name, on the opposite corner as Kwong's Cuisine."

That was all she needed. Korra turned away from Viper, ready to retake control of herself, but she should've known the darkness wouldn't lose ground willingly. It was holding on tight and, all at once, the steady ache that had been in her head all day was beyond excruciating, and the tension in her chest felt like a crushing pressure on her heart. As she tried to go into _her_ Avatar state, she glanced out the cell at Asami, who had her electric glove on and active, and Korra was afraid. She didn't want to get shocked again. She didn't want to get knocked out by the glove because she didn't have any time to waste, and so she wouldn't open the door until she was herself. Until she was sure Asami wouldn't need to use the glove. The only option was beating Vaatu.

But Korra didn't even have the energy to stand and fight at the same time, especially through the harrowing pain. She fell to her knees, collapsing forward to press her head to the cold stone floor and shielding it with her hands. Not even the cool feeling of the ground helped alleviate some of the agony. Nor did groaning through clenched teeth or clawing at the back of her neck. She felt _all_ of it. Every explosive pulse in her skull, every sharp spasm in her chest and every cramping tense of muscle throughout her body.

She couldn't even breathe. Each inhale was cut short by the stabbing pain it caused, but she couldn't stop fighting. Losing this battle meant losing control, and by the time she'd manage to get it back again, it might be too late. But the lack of breath caused her to choke, and then gag. She pushed onto her hands and dry heaved again, only realizing it wasn't from the lack of breath because this time something came up. It came up slow. So slow that she couldn't have inhaled if she tried.

It was white, and wispy. It crept from her mouth, half-lingering in her throat, waiting to be coughed out while the rest floated on the air like smoke even though it was solid enough for her to choke on. And she didn't know what it was, or what was happening, but there was a call of instinct deep inside her that let her know she didn't want this to happen. Whatever it was, she didn't want to lose this, _couldn't_ lose this lest she lose some integral part of herself. Using every bit of strength that she had left, Korra straightened up and forced herself to breathe. Inhaled so hard and deep it felt like her lungs would burst, and the thick white fog went with the air rushing into her chest. It returned to her, and her eyes flickered red and white for only a moment before it finally ceased, and she had just enough left in her to metalbend the lock open before collapsing.

"Korra!" Bolin yelled.

But Asami was the first one through the door. The electric glove was no longer active, and Asami fell to the ground at Korra's side and rolled her onto her back. "Korra?" she whimpered, hands running desperately over her face.

Korra couldn't answer; she didn't yet have the strength or the breath, but she reached up for Asami's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze to say that she'd be okay. Her eyes were cracked just enough that she could see the others standing by worriedly, and her victim was huddled in a corner.

"Fuck the Avatar," Viper spat angrily. "She's crazy!"

"Shut up, Viper," Mako snarled. He knelt down on the opposite side of Korra as Asami, saying more gently, "We need to get her out of this cell." And he scooped his arms under Korra, lifting her off the ground while Asami stood, and then passing her off to let Asami carry her.

Asami carried her out of the cellblock, followed closely by Bolin and Opal. She was recovering a little. Enough that she could fully open her eyes and her breathing was starting to calm. While she could see that Bolin and Opal were trailing along, and Mako was relocating Viper to a cell with an unbroken door, her focus was Asami. Her green eyes were full of tears, and Korra had never seen so much concern, but she'd also never seen so much conflict. Asami was worried, but behind that worry, she also looked upset. Her jaw was clenched, lips pursed with a mixture of anger and effort to hold back tears, and maybe even some of those tears in her eyes were from anger.

"Asami?" Korra prompted weakly.

They reached the single office to the side of the front desk, and Asami didn't so much as look at her as she set Korra down in the office chair, though she _did_ pace over to the water dispenser in the corner, get a cup, and carry it back.

"Thanks," Korra said, taking the cup and hoping Asami would at least look at her.

She didn't, and she blinked rapidly to rid the moisture from her eyes as she turned away, retreating to far side of the office to lean back against the wall. Korra couldn't be sure if Bolin and Opal could sense the tension, but neither of them said anything. Nobody said a single thing for a long minute while Korra recovered. While she just sat there, breathing deep to try and regain some of the strength in her limbs, sipping the cold water to try and soothe the aching in her head and chest, glancing at Asami every few seconds to see if she looked any less conflicted.

Eventually, Mako walked in, and he seemed to pick up on the tension, because he didn't say anything either. Maybe the others were as confused as Korra, wondering what had been slithering from her throat and what it meant. Or maybe they were mad at her too, and didn't know whether to help take care of her or avoid her.

Opal was the first one to venture to speak. "Are you okay?"

Korra sighed, and she didn't know what to say, so she just shook her head. If it had been Asami who'd asked, she might've told them the truth. That she was exhausted, that she couldn't do this anymore, and that she wasn't sure she'd be okay. She might've told them that every time she had to fight for control she was more and more convinced that she wouldn't survive this.

"We should catch the bomber," Mako said. "Korra, if you can't make it, we'll go."

"I'll go," Korra said hastily. She wouldn't miss this, wouldn't be able to live with herself if her friends got hurt because she'd opted out. She even stood from the chair to prove that she had the strength. Only, she didn't have the strength. The first step she took, her legs nearly gave out beneath her, and with the way Asami had been refusing to look at her, Korra was almost surprised when she rushed across the room to catch her. "I'll be fine by the time we get there," Korra assured them as Asami lifted an arm over her shoulders for support.

Though her friends looked hesitant, they took her word for it anyway, and with Asami supporting her, they all strode out of the prison. Naga and the motorcycles were right where they left them, but when they reached Naga, Asami unhooked Korra's arm from her shoulders and directed her to grab the saddle.

"Can you ride alone?" Asami asked quietly.

Korra's heart sank at the implications of the question, but she didn't trust her strength enough to ride alone. "No."

"Mako," Asami called before he reached his motorcycle, "Will you ride with Korra?" Before Mako could respond or Asami could try and walk away, Korra reached for her hand, brow furrowing with hurt and confusion. And the plea in her eyes caused fresh moisture in Asami's. "You didn't even try to fight it," Asami murmured, and after so many minutes without eye contact, the sudden way she wouldn't look anywhere else was agonizing. "Tell me I'm wrong." Korra couldn't deny it, and the guilty turn of her gaze answered for her. "I'll fight for you," Asami said, slipping her hand out of Korra's grip. "I'll give my life fighting for you, but what you did in there was not okay, and I just… need a little bit of space right now."

Korra had been in pain the entire last day, but the fact that she'd unintentionally hurt Asami _again_ was almost worse than all of it. What could she say? She couldn't apologize because if Asami wanted space then that meant she wasn't ready to hear it. She couldn't make assurances that she wouldn't have taken it too far, or that she wouldn't have killed Viper, because she truly didn't know what she was capable of or how much control she'd had. She'd taken that risk, gambled with another man's life because she feared for her own, and that wasn't something the Avatar would do. It wasn't something she ever should have done, and that was nearly as terrifying as the fact that she was dying, because what if she was losing herself too?

So she swallowed hard and nodded, struggled to climb up into Naga's saddle and then let Mako slip in behind her. It didn't take them long to ride downtown to the bar Viper had told them about, and though Korra had regained just enough strength by the time they got there that she could have helped, she decided it was best to stay out of this fight. The last thing she needed was to put herself in another position where she'd lose control, or where she was tempted to let it go freely. Her body couldn't handle it, her spirit couldn't handle it, and she wasn't quite sure her relationship could handle it either.

Fortunately, what with most of the Triple Threats having been apprehended at the Sato Estate, there wasn't much work to be done by way of catching the bomber. It was as simple as them rushing into the bar, spotting the bomber at a table alone, and chasing him out back. Mako and the man exchanged blasts of fire while Bolin earthbent rock around his ankles, and then Asami dove in to knock him out with her glove. The way everything else had been going lately, Korra was almost reluctant to believe it had been that simple, but they threw the unconscious man over Naga's back and returned to the police station without a hiccup.

Chief Beifong was there waiting for them when they arrived, with a tall, middle-aged man at her side. He was bald, and dressed in the robes customary for the air monks, and Korra had always known that monks lived out at Air Temple Island, but she'd never considered that its inhabitants would be as spiritually traditional as those who actually lived at the old air temples.

Chief Beifong nodded at them as an officer carried the bomber away to a holding cell. "You did good bringing him in," she praised tersely.

"Thanks," Korra muttered half-heartedly, passing an awkward side-glance at Asami, who still hadn't tried speaking to her since they left the prison. And she still felt weak, so she dropped into the nearest chair and slouched down tiredly.

"This is Tenzin," Lin said, motioning to the man at her side. "I caught him up as best I could on your situation."

"I'm Korra," Korra said, reaching out to shake with Tenzin.

He went around the group, introducing himself to the rest of them before returning his focus to Korra. "It's an honor to meet the Avatar."

That made her feel awkward all over again, so she offered an uncomfortable shrug. "I might not be the Avatar much longer if we can't figure this out."

Tenzin nodded understandingly, and asked, "You think you've been forced into a second fusion with Vaatu?" Korra hummed an affirmative. "That's not good. That's not good at all."

"Tell me about it," Korra sighed in agreement.

"How long have you been like this?" Tenzin asked.

"A couple of days."

"Remarkable," he mused, folding his arms across his chest as he studied her intensely. That wasn't the response Korra expected, so she cocked a curious eyebrow. "You know even one fusion is supposed to be fatal for a human," he explained, and she nodded that she knew. "It has to be the Avatar strength. It's a wonder how you're even alive right now, let alone how you've been able to stay in control…"

"I haven't been," Korra admitted disappointedly. "And I can't keep fighting. Vaatu's either going to control me or kill me, and you're kind of my last resort."

"I imagine he can't take over entirely unless he's alone in there," Tenzin said. "He'd have to expel Raava first."

Korra's head tilted in realization, and she wasn't the only one.

"That's what that was," Asami said worriedly. "At the prison."

"What?" Tenzin asked.

"Raava," Korra replied grimly, feeling a chill go up her spine at how close she'd been to the edge. "I almost lost her."

"This is more dire than I thought," Tenzin murmured, shaking his head with severe concern. "Have you tried going into the Avatar state? Perhaps it would help you to get rid of Vaatu."

"No," Korra breathed dejectedly. "I _have_ been going into the Avatar state. It's been the only thing keeping me in control." Tenzin mirrored her sigh. "What about past lives?" Korra asked. It had crossed her mind before, and surely Tenzin of all people should know how to get in touch with them. "Would they maybe help me if I can contact them?"

"It's possible," Tenzin answered with a clear lack of hope for the idea. "But I'm concerned about the risks of presenting Vaatu with access to your past lives."

Korra groaned, leaning forward in her seat to set her elbows on her knees and bury her face in her hands. "What other options do I have?"

"I fear there may only be one thing to do, Korra," Tenzin said gently. "Only one person who might have the skill to fix this."

Korra picked her head up, asking eagerly, "Who?"

Tenzin unfolded his arms, taking in a heavy breath before saying, "The person who did this to you in the first place."


	12. Chapter 12

_*** First things first, I'm posting the last two chapters at the same time cuz, with the way this chapter ends, I thought you'd all appreciate having the next one right away. And I'm putting all the notes on this chapter so there's no interrupt and you can go right on to reading the next one :). So this is it! I just wanted to say thank you all for reading and leaving all the wonderful feedback. You guys are so amazing, I love you all._

 _Lastly, my beta reader was always SO prompt about reading the chapters I sent her because she never wanted you to wait longer than you had to. She was honestly as devoted to this story as I was, so please go to her tumblr inbox (bashinglei is her url) and give her some love. If you don't know what to say, just type a simple 'thanks', she'll know what it's for :)._

 _Okay, it's been fun! Thanks again for reading 3_

… _._

Go back to the Southern Water Tribe and find Shaozu. That was Tenzin's plan, and for a few moments after the suggestion, Korra simply stared at him. It made sense that Shaozu and the Blue Lotus might be the only ones who knew how to undo what they'd done, but _would_ they? They'd done this for a reason. Done it because they believed wholeheartedly in the fact that the Avatar was out of balance, and Korra doubted that they'd reverse it willingly. So her only option was to make them see that they were wrong. To show them that being fused with both Raava and Vaatu wasn't giving her the balance they'd wanted it to, and that they had to fix it. It was her only option because there was no time for anything else.

"Okay," Korra agreed, rising from her seat. "Let's do it. We'll go to the airport and catch the first plane out."

"I'm flying this time," Asami said immediately. "We're not waiting for the next flight. We'll take the Future Industries jet."

Korra nodded at that, looking again at Tenzin. "Are you going to come?" Having a spiritual advisor along couldn't be a bad idea.

"I would like to accompany the Avatar," Tenzin said. "Yes."

"Chief?" Korra asked.

"The city needs me here," Lin answered. She held out her hand, giving Korra a parting shake. "Good luck, kid."

Korra gave a grateful half smile, and they all turned to leave the station; she, Asami, Mako, Bolin, Opal, and Tenzin. Though Asami still didn't say much on the way out, she'd at least cooled off enough that she hopped into Naga's saddle behind Korra, her hands resting formally loose on Korra's hips the entire ride. At the airport, they all boarded the Future Industries jet, and Korra stayed in the cabin with the others while Asami paced forward to the cockpit. She told herself it was so she wouldn't be a distraction, but the truth was that she didn't really know what to say. Nor did she know if Asami even wanted her to say anything yet.

So she plopped down in a big leather seat at the back of the plane, apart from her friends and Tenzin, but with Naga curled up on the floor beside her. As the jet took off down the runway, all she could think about was the fact that she was skeptical. If the Blue Lotus was even still around the spirit portal, she didn't think they'd want to help her. Who's to say she'd even make it the few hour flight without another episode, without losing it and killing them all because she was exhausted.

Her eyes were lidded with the primal desire for sleep, and her body craved to lie down. To drift off into blissful darkness and forget about the splitting headache that wouldn't leave her, or the tightness in her chest, or the cold sinking feeling in her gut that she wasn't going to make it through this alive. The only thing that kept her awake as they flew through the clouds were the people around her. Falling asleep meant giving Vaatu an easy opening for control, and that was dangerous for everyone she loved.

A while after they took off, someone finally came over. It was Tenzin, and he dropped down in the seat next to her, asking, "How are you holding up?"

"Just," Korra said, drawing in a deep breath to sigh, "barely." She shook her head with defeat. "If this doesn't work, or if we can't find the Blue Lotus… I don't know." She sat there for a moment in grave thoughtfulness, Tenzin staying silent at her side. "I used to read stories about the old Avatars. You know some of them weren't excited when they found out?"

"Were you?" Tenzin asked.

"I haven't had a chance to be much of anything," Korra shrugged, and it was true for so much more than just her time as Avatar. "I don't know if I'll ever get to." She sighed once more, too tired to keep her emotions in check and filtered. "If I don't make it, I'll be the worst Avatar ever. I screwed everything up, sent the world into chaos, probably ruined my relationship with Asami, and if I don't let Vaatu take over and destroy the world, then I'll die before I ever get to do anything good for it."

"People are confused right now, Korra," Tenzin said gently, "but very soon they'll realize that you've given them a gift, and they'll be grateful."

"Yeah," Korra mumbled sarcastically, "we'll see if I'm around to bask in it."

"You will be," Tenzin replied. "We're all here to make sure of that."

At that, Korra glanced around at her friends, suddenly overwhelmed with the fact that they _had_ come. That they _were_ there to make sure she survived, regardless of how unstable and dangerous she'd been. She glanced toward the closed cockpit door. Even Asami was here, flying them to the Southern Water Tribe and prepared to search for and face people she'd already fought, people who'd already hurt her.

"When we get you fixed," Tenzin said, breaking into her focus, "Would you like to train with me?" Korra looked over at him curiously. "The airbending is new to me too, so we might have to master it together, but if you'd like spiritual training as well…"

Tenzin looked so hopeful, and he was nice and, if she managed to survive after all of this, spiritual training sounded like an absolute necessity. "Yeah." She nodded as happily as her mood and energy level would allow. "I'd like that." He smiled at her, but she couldn't put much effort into returning it as her eyes wandered back to the door of the cockpit. This might be her only chance. "If you'll excuse me," she said to Tenzin, "I need to…"

When he nodded her on, she stood and trudged across the length of the jet to that door, giving it a soft knock. There was a muffled 'it's open' from the other side, and that she knew Asami could see her through the large looking hole in the middle and was _still_ letting her come in, well, it was encouraging. So she slid it open, closing it behind her and then slumping down in the copilot seat.

"Hey," Korra greeted timidly. She risked a glance over, but it wasn't returned, and that was slightly less encouraging.

"I called your dad," Asami said quietly. "He said he'll have snowmobiles ready for everyone. He wants to come too, if you'll let him."

"Thanks," Korra murmured, but the first thought she had wasn't about gratitude or that her father wanted to come. She was suddenly afraid that Asami didn't intend to go with them. That she was too upset, and would only get them as far as Harbor City and that was it, because she hadn't said 'us.' She'd said 'everyone' as if she wasn't a part of it. Korra wanted to ask, but she was too afraid that the answer would be no, and she didn't know if she could handle that disappointment right now. So she didn't ask, but she'd come in here for a reason, and she sat there for an awkward minute, working up the courage to say, "I'm sorry, Asami."

"You didn't do anything to me," Asami said automatically, but it was almost mechanical. Closed off. Guarded.

"I let you down," Korra said, sinking further in her seat. Asami was thumbing the buttons on the steering wheel, but Korra could see the flashing panel that said autopilot was engaged, and the fact that Asami was uncomfortable enough to need a distraction was gut wrenching. "You were right. What I did to Viper was wrong, and I should've found another way to get what we needed."

Asami cast a downward glance in Korra's direction, as though she wanted to look up, but her gaze never made it past the floor. "Why'd you do it?"

"Because I'm tired." Korra let out a heavy breath, stealing a glimpse across at Asami and then immediately looking away because she didn't have a good excuse, not when she tried to justify it out loud. "Because it was easier than fighting."

There was a long pause, and when Asami finally spoke it was almost too quiet to pick up. "I don't want to hear that."

Korra shook her head, saying weakly, "I don't know what else to tell you, Asami." And that Asami sniffled tearfully cut straight through the painful tension in Korra's chest, but she was too exhausted to do more. Too exhausted to try and explain herself, or explain how hard and agonizing fighting this was, or to try and come up with a reason why doing what she'd done had been her only option. She was too exhausted to keep watching herself hurt Asami over and over again. "Maybe I'm not…" The thought caused her eyes to fill with tears, and she swallowed hard to keep speaking. "Maybe I'm not as strong as you want me to be. Not as good." Her head dropped forward remorsefully, and she struggled to blink away the tears. "Maybe if I was someone stronger, someone better…" She couldn't stop them completely, and reached up to wipe the back of her hand across her cheek. "Maybe you should find someone better."

There was no sound other than the steady hum of the jet around them. It got so still, so silent that Korra worried if Asami was even still breathing. Her eyes dodged sideways, only to find that Asami was staring at the wheel in her hands, unblinking, unmoving. Korra didn't know what else to say. She'd given Asami an out, given her a reason not to stick around if Korra had already hurt her too bad. Maybe now she just needed some time to think about it. Maybe it didn't even matter, and Korra wouldn't make it out of this and Asami would have to find someone anyway. As hard as it was, Korra stood, edged around the seat and reached the cockpit door.

"Is that what you want?" Asami asked before she could open it.

She turned just enough to see Asami, who'd swiveled around in the seat to look at her. "No," Korra admitted, taking in a deep breath to try and keep her emotions in check. "I want you."

For one long minute, Asami just stared at her, tears brimming in her bright green eyes. Eventually, she looked away. Stared across the cockpit, and Korra didn't know what else to do. Didn't know what Asami was thinking, or if she was going to get a response. So she turned and reached once more for the handle of the door.

"Korra, please," Asami said hastily. She was already out of her seat as Korra turned again, and arms wrapped tight around Korra's middle and Asami buried her face in her neck. "Please don't stop fighting," Asami begged, releasing a flood of tears against her skin. "For me. If you can't find any other reason, if you're too tired and you can't do it for yourself, do it for me." Korra's eyes flooded with fresh moisture as she wrapped her own arms around Asami's shoulders, feeling them shake with a sob. "I am _begging_ you not to give up," Asami cried. "Please, Korra."

She was too tired and weak even to support Asami like this, so she leaned back against the door, letting Asami lean against her. With the vice-like grip Asami had on her waist, she could barely breathe, but breathing wasn't important. Nothing was more important right now than this. Than Asami breaking down, than her _needing_ Korra and giving Korra something to hold on to, and Korra let her own head sink forward into Asami's shoulder.

"You're everything to me," Asami whimpered into her neck. " _Everything_." She sniffled, and somehow her hold got tighter. "I've been trying to stay strong for you. I've been trying so hard, but I'm terrified. I can't lose you."

More than anything, Korra wanted to murmur reassurances. Wanted to hold Asami close and tell her over and over again that everything would be okay, and that she'd make it out of this, but she couldn't promise that, and they both knew it. All she could do was slide a hand up, set it comfortingly against the back of Asami's head and let her cry. Let Asami stop being the strong one for a minute, because as exhausted as Korra was, she could do this. For Asami, she could.

Minutes passed by, the shaking of Asami's shoulders steadying, the drip of tears slowing against Korra's neck. Korra felt Asami take in one long, deep breath, and then she lifted her head, straightened enough to look at Korra without having to release her hold. Her cheeks were soaked, her eyes red, and Korra lifted a hand to cup her face, caressing her cheek with a gentle thumb.

"I'm not just afraid of you dying, Korra," Asami said quietly, finally meeting her gaze. "I'm afraid of the Blue Lotus being right." When she admitted it, her eyes filled with new tears, but she sniffled hard to keep them at bay. "I watched you give in to it with Viper, and it looked as easy for you as going into the Avatar state, and I'm scared that all of this pain is going to pass, and you'll settle into this like the Blue Lotus wants. But that darkness isn't _you_." The corners of her mouth twitched with a desolate frown, and when a tear slid down her cheek, Korra whisked it away. "I can't go through it again," she whispered, her voice soggy. "I can't watch another person that I love be consumed by something corrupt."

And suddenly, it all made sense, and Korra felt the pang of it in her chest. "Asami," she breathed sadly, "I'm so sorry." She leaned her forehead against Asami's, unable to keep a guilty tear from sliding down her cheek. "If I'd known it would hurt you like this, _because_ of this… Why didn't you tell me?"

Asami's head gave the smallest shake against hers. "This isn't about me," she murmured. "You're struggling. You're _dying_ , and I just… I thought I could be strong until it was over." Asami took in a deep, quivering breath. "I thought I could take it, but at the prison, you did it willingly, and you almost couldn't recover. I got confused, and scared, and angry, and I didn't know how to feel or react." She sniffled again, picking her head up to look Korra in the eyes. "I'm sorry if I made you feel like I was mad at you. The truth is that I don't know what I'll do if you don't survive this, and that terrifies me."

"There's so little I can promise," Korra said honestly, adjusting her hand to smooth the backs of her fingers across Asami's cheek. "But I promise you that the Blue Lotus was wrong. This doesn't feel natural. It will _never_ feel natural, or right, and I won't give in to it again." She wrapped her arms around Asami's shoulders, pulling her into another tight hug. "You said you'd fight for me. I promise I'll keep fighting too. For you."

"Thank you," Asami said, pressing an affectionate kiss to the side of her neck. They stood like that for over a minute, reeling in their emotions and relishing the feel of each other before Asami prompted, "Korra, one more thing…" And Korra hummed that she was listening. "…Don't ever suggest that I break up with you again."

Korra released an embarrassed chuckle into Asami's shoulder. "I won't."

Asami pulled back from the hug, giving Korra a lingering kiss before scanning her face with residual concern. "You look so tired," she mused unhappily, and Korra nodded that she was. "It's been almost three days since you've had a full night of sleep."

"I can't risk it," Korra said, and though Asami's lips pursed at that, she didn't protest. "Besides," Korra added in an attempt at lightheartedness, "it's not like you've gotten much more."

"I'm not fighting Vaatu for control," Asami pointed out.

Instead of addressing that, Korra nodded distractedly toward the control panels of the jet. "Why don't you teach me how flying this thing works?"

Asami seemed to know that she wasn't going to convince Korra to get even an hour of sleep, so she led them back to the seats to begin explaining all of the buttons and dials. Korra was way too exhausted to remember most of it, or even to comprehend a good amount, but it helped just to hear Asami's voice. Just to know that Asami's wasn't upset with her, and that Asami was talking as much as she could and prompting for the occasional response to try and keep Korra awake. It worked, too, and Korra managed to last the entire flight without drifting off once.

It was long dark by the time they landed in Harbor City, and Korra wasn't the only one who was tired; as they all got off the jet, nobody said much of anything. Or maybe it wasn't exhaustion, but rather that nobody was sure what would happen, or if Korra would make it. The mood was somber, and even when they met Tonraq outside the airport where he was waiting with the snowmobiles, he didn't do much more than hug Korra in greeting.

Korra and Asami got into Naga's saddle, and with the others each on a vehicle, they started their journey out of the city. It didn't matter that once they left Harbor City it was extremely dark on the icy tundra, the only source of light being the moon and the distant ribbon of lights in the sky. They weren't worried about not knowing which direction to go, because the open spirit portal was like a beacon in the night.

Through the nervousness and the struggle to stay awake, the ride seemed to drag on forever, but eventually, they reached the woods. And then the portal. There was no one around but them when they arrived, but Korra was fairly certain that the Blue Lotus was somewhere nearby. How else would they have been so ready when she opened the portal in the first place? They had to have a camp somewhere close. They had to be here.

Instead of going out to search the woods, Korra dismounted with her friends, Tenzin, and her father, yelling into the night, "Shaozu!" It echoed off the icy ground and frozen trees, and they all stayed silent for a moment. "Shaozu, it's Korra!" She even cupped her hands around her mouth, hoping it would help her voice carry. "I know you can hear me! Get out here!" Another long span of silence, during which Asami pulled on her electric glove, and the others stood tense. "Blue Lotus! It's the Avatar! Shaozu!?"

They waited, scanning what dense portion of the forest was illuminated by the light of the portal. There was nothing out there, no movement for a long minute. Then Naga growled a low rumble in her chest, and at least thirty people in blue emerged from every direction, surrounding them with their backs to the portal.

"Avatar Korra," said a familiar voice from nearby. She whipped around to face Shaozu, and when he saw her for the first time, took in how visibly unwell she was, his expression went stony. "Why have you come?"

"Fusing me with Vaatu was a mistake," Korra told him, a pleading edge to her voice that she hadn't intended. But she had to make him understand. "I'm not balanced, I'm unstable."

Shaozu hummed, striding a couple paces closer while he thought about it. "You've been fighting him?" he asked, but it was more accusation than question. "Resisting the push and pull of opposite elements."

"I can't keep going back and forth," Korra said. "That's not balance."

"It _is_ balance," Shaozu argued calmly. "You are the place where shore meets sea. The tide retreats, but it always returns."

"I don't have time for metaphors," Korra growled impatiently.

"You may not like Vaatu," he said plainly. "But his moments of influence are as important to the world as his moments of retreat." He trudged a straight line back and forth in front of Korra, wearing a rut into the snow. "Bad things happen, Korra, but without them the very world would be out of balance, tilt on its axis, perhaps stop spinning altogether. We survive because of a cycle."

Korra didn't know if Shaozu was being literal, if he really believed the world wouldn't be able to function without corruption, but whether he was being literal or figurative, she didn't care. Either way, he was wrong. An extremist as unbalanced as he'd made Korra.

"Well, it's _killing_ me," Korra said forcefully. "And that's not a metaphor. Undo it."

"Killing you?" Shaozu repeated, stopping his tracks through the snow and looking genuinely surprised and concerned. That much was confusing.

"Nosebleeds," Korra explained, "headaches, pain like you can't imagine. Vaatu doesn't care about balance. He wants control. He wants Raava gone, and he won't stop until I give her up."

For an uncomfortable while, Shaozu simply stared at her, and then he scanned each of her companions. His shoulders slumped, and he let out a heavy sigh. "That is disappointing," he admitted, and Korra's brow rose with shock. With hope. Did he believe her? Was he going to fix it? "You'd been so full of promise," he said. "But we'll have to start over."

Wait… "Start over?" Korra asked, feeling her heart sink. Instinct told her that she knew exactly what Shaozu meant, and so she subtly reached out with the hand at her side, using her waterbending to prepare a defense.

"Yes," Shaozu answered, resuming his stride. "We'll try again with the next Avatar. Perhaps attempt fusion while they're younger, and less resistant to influence." He met Korra's gaze, his eyes harder and sterner than she'd seen them yet. "We'll first release you of the responsibility."

When he gave the signal with a flick of his hand, Korra was ready. She threw up a thick ice wall to block the first attack from one of the surrounding benders, and chaos erupted as her friends and the Blue Lotus sprang into action. They wanted to kill Korra, and being so severely outnumbered put them on the immediate defense. They circled up, deflecting everything that was thrown at them from the ring of Blue Lotus surrounding them. Korra used every element she could, but there was so much going on that it was hard to tell which elements were coming from where. Every time Mako blocked with a burst of fire, the blast was blinding in the night. Whenever Bolin broke a hurled chunk of earth, the dust hovered in the frozen air. Each of her and Opal and Tenzin's gusts stirred the fresh snow, whipping it from the ground to create thick flurries as obscuring as Bolin's dust.

And the Blue Lotus was closing in on them. Tightening the circle and getting closer so that eventually they wouldn't be able to maintain their round defense. One of the Blue Lotus's nonbenders got impatient. He dashed forward, making a play for Korra, but Asami leapt from the circle headfirst. She rolled into the snow to meet his attack, springing up from the ground and leading with her glove, so that it caught him in the abdomen and made him collapse on the spot. A firebender immediately tried to hit her while she was vulnerable, but Korra deflected it with a wave of water and a fierce glare.

This wouldn't work much longer. Once the Blue Lotus members got close enough, they wouldn't be able to deflect attacks in time. What they needed to do was get out of this formation, stop being surrounded and find a way to get an upper hand. The spirit portal was close. If they went through it then they could place themselves in front of it, and the Blue Lotus wouldn't be able to trap them in.

"Get in the portal!" Korra shouted, and all at once, every one of them turned.

They sprinted into it as every member of the Blue Lotus lunged after them, swiveling around to face it in a straight line, so they were no longer surrounded and could see each member that came through. The first Blue Lotus member that entered got simultaneously pelted by an element from each of them, hit so hard that she was hurled through the portal and back into the physical world. They took the opportunity to retreat a few more paces from the portal, putting a safer distance between it and them as a flood of Blue Lotus streamed through.

There was no lull in the attack, the very moment the Blue Lotus got in, they continued the assault. Only, this time they were entirely focused on Korra. Every bender threw their element right at her, creating an onslaught of fire, earth, water, and air, multiple at a time and so unrelentingly that it left her in a worse position than she'd been in in the physical world. Her companions did everything they could to shield her, even Asami and Naga dashed forward to meet the advance of a handful of nonbenders, but every few seconds one of them would get sent a surprise attack to throw them off.

It kept them on their toes. Kept them from being entirely focused on Korra, and Korra was focused on Asami. She and Naga were battling nonbenders in the midst of the ruckus, but just as they dispatched three of the six, four more left the frontlines of the Blue Lotus. Korra was worried, and it was hard to see through the commotion of attacks, and a moment later one of the elements broke through their defense. The block of ice hit her in the chest, sending her careening backward out of the line.

"Korra!" Opal yelled worriedly.

It knocked the breath out of her, but she managed to shout, "Keep fighting!" She stayed where she'd stopped rolling on the ground, recovering air and trying her best to recover the strength to even stand.

"Korra," Mako called behind him, "We can't last like this."

She glanced up just in time to see Bolin deflect an attack that had been aimed at Asami, only to get skimmed in the arm by a shard of ice in his moment of distraction. She had to get back in there, and she pushed onto her knees to begin to rise.

"He's right," Tonraq agreed loudly. "We-"

He stopped short as Tenzin announced, "They're advancing!"

Korra forced herself to her feet, running back to her place in the center of the line. The Blue Lotus _was_ advancing, and fast. The small army of them sprinted forward, still hurling element after element, and there was no time to prepare or to retreat or to come up with another plan. Especially not with Asami and Naga at the heart of it all, still fighting any conscious nonbender. Korra dashed forward so Asami wouldn't be alone when the Blue Lotus reached her position, hearing a shout from behind her and certain that the others would follow. They met the Blue Lotus head on, and that's when true chaos erupted.

Their positions were broken, and they paired off because they couldn't stick together in the sea of Blue Lotus – Asami and Korra and Naga, Bolin and Opal and Mako, Tenzin and Tonraq. It was still an entirely defensive skirmish, dodging and deflecting, attacking when they could. But there was no way to avoid getting hit because there was too much to try avoiding. Korra punched through a chunk of earth, only to get clipped in the hip by a blast of air dirtied with fragments of ice. While she stumbled backward off balance, she managed to throw her arms up, shielding her face just in time to avoid being seared by a ball of fire.

Asami wasn't any better off. She ducked a wave of water by rolling sideways, but the moment she reached her feet, an earthbender shifted the ground beneath her forward. The propulsion sent her crashing to her back, and she managed to kick her legs over her head and spring up just before the earth was bent around her. A nonbender was already there, and she didn't get a second to recover before needing to deflect a punch, and she countered by pivoting around the man, slamming her electrified palm into his back. He collapsed, but just as he fell, Asami was hit in the shoulder blades by an air assault that sent her staggering forward.

Even Naga was too occupied to help them defend each other. The polar bear dog rose to her hind legs, swatting at a firebender with a heavy front paw. The man went flying, but before she could get all four paws on the ground again, an earthbender lifted a pillar that caught her on the underside of the jaw. She toppled to her back, rolling onto her feet only to get blasted in the ribs with such a powerful whirlwind that it knocked her to her side again, sending her skidding a few meters.

There were just too many. They managed to knock a Blue Lotus member unconscious every once in a while, but it hardly made a difference. Every one of them was taking hits left and right, and it wouldn't be long before recovering from it got too difficult. Korra was already beyond exhausted. She was slow to deflect, and every blow she took made her even slower. They'd kill her, and if her friends kept fighting then they might die too, and she couldn't let it carry on like this. She needed to do more.

It was a risk, but it was the only option. Korra locked in on the surge of power boiling beneath the surface of her skin, and her eyes illuminated white as she went into the Avatar state. She immediately surrounded herself with a protective sphere of swirling air, allowing it to lift her up and above the battle as it shielded her from attacks. From this vantage point, she searched the clash for one person in particular, gleaming eyes finally locating Shaozu amongst the expanse of blue.

Revolving her hands in a tight circle, she created a tornado of air that picked Shaozu from the crowd. It whirled him off the ground, and with that mighty gust she hurled him away from the skirmish and the portal, toward that hollow tree at the center of the grove where all of this started. Korra flew over the heads of everyone fighting, taking herself away from the battle and toward where Shaozu had landed apart from it. He was reaching his feet when she got there, and she let the sphere of air die to land in front of him.

"Call them off," she demanded, her voice bigger and mightier than it ever had been, filled with the ethereal power of Raava.

Shaozu gathered two long tendrils of water, whipping them at her and wrapping both around her torso, pinning her arms at her sides so she couldn't use them. She instantly stomped on the ground, raising a heavy rock in front of her and then jumping, twisting in mid air to kick the earth at him. He had to release her to avoid being pummeled. He let her go and flipped backward, and as the mass flew over him, he froze his water, gesturing his hands toward her while he landed on his feet. It sent a flurry of ice daggers zooming toward her, and she parried a few steps back as she skillfully cut her arms through the air, knocking every fragment off course so they pierced into the ground around her.

That's when she felt it, the familiar pain and pull of Vaatu. It split through her skull so suddenly she cried out, clutching at her head as she felt her eyes start to flicker. Not now. Please not now. There wasn't time, and she didn't have the strength to fight, but she'd _promised_. She'd given Asami her word that she wouldn't give up, and she wasn't going to break that promise. So she battled, gritting her teeth to try and stay in the Avatar state even if it hurt so bad that she was starting to feel lightheaded. But this was Shaozu's chance.

Unwilling to miss it, he created another tendril, freezing the end to whip it at her. The frozen bludgeon slammed into her shoulder, sending her crashing to the ground so hard that she rolled. The added agony and the distraction of it caused her eyes to linger at red, but as she struggled to her knees, she forced herself to block out the world, to focus on maintaining control. Her eyes flashed again, white, and red, and white. She pushed to her feet, barely managing to lift a wall of rock to block the next hit from that flinging boulder of ice, but no sooner had she blocked than Shaozu sent a blast of water into her abdomen.

"It's a shame you resist, Korra," Shaozu said as she tumbled backward head over heels. "You _are_ strong."

Korra came to stop on her back, and lifted her shoulders off the ground, grimacing through the raging battle for control as her eyes favored red. A rope of water wrapped around her ankle and yanked sharply upward, tossing her into the air only for her to plummet back down. She landed heavy on her stomach, pushing onto her elbows and wheezing through the pain as Shaozu advanced.

"It's the Avatar's duty to sacrifice themselves for the greater good," Shaozu said. "You know this." He gripped her with the solid tendrils of water, wrapped them around her body and lifted her into the air, squeezing so tightly that she couldn't inhale. "It's time for you to make that sacrifice."

The agony was beyond excruciating, and she couldn't breathe and if Shaozu didn't kill her in the next couple moments then she'd lose consciousness anyway. This was it, and tears filled her eyes because she couldn't fight anymore. Not for her. Not for Asami. Not for anyone or anything as long as she was fighting Vaatu. It wasn't a matter of surrendering. She simply didn't have the strength to remain a contender. She lost the raging battle, her eyes stopped flickering and glowed that brilliant red, and the pain was gone.

In Vaatu's Avatar state, leaving the conflict behind, Korra regained power and focus. She purposefully froze the tendrils around her, and with all the Avatar strength in her body, she thrust her arms outward, shattering the ice that trapped her. The moment she was free, she created a whirlwind of air to keep her hovering, and she spun with it, twirling the broken ice around her so it would pick up speed. And then she let it fly. Used the spinning gust of air around her to bullet the pieces at Shaozu.

He tried to dodge and deflect, but they were moving too fast and there were too many. The first piece he got clipped by ruined his defense, it threw him off balance and every piece after it hit him. The blows knocked him backward, first sending him skidding a few feet back, and then beating him off his feet. When he landed on his back, Korra smashed a foot against the earth, lifting it under him to shoot him into the air. She collected water, wrapping it around his ankle as he'd done to her, but she aided gravity and pulled him back down. He hit the ground so hard she felt it vibrate beneath her feet, but she wouldn't give him much time to recover. She aimed to kill.

"You're interfering," her voice told him, but it wasn't entirely her. It was tainted. It was Vaatu. "You set me free, and I'm right where I want to be."

As Shaozu sat up, visibly shaken and weak, she punched a blast of fire at him. And another. And another. Advancing with them as she beat him back to the ground and stood at his feet.

"And now I'm going to end you," she rumbled, raising a massive boulder of earth and lifting it above her head. "So you can't ever force me out of the Avatar."

Just as she was about to smash him with it, something hard collided into her torso, ripping her off her feet. As she hit the ground a few yards away with a weight on top of her, and the boulder she'd been holding smashed down where she'd been standing, she realized it was Asami. Asami had fought through the skirmish and tackled her. Asami had stopped her from finishing this. And Vaatu was furious.

Korra hollered angrily, throwing Asami off of her with the sheer force of her palms to Asami's shoulders, and she sprang to her feet as Asami landed with a pained grunt. She filled her palms with fire, Vaatu fully prepared to end Asami so she wouldn't get in the way again, but whatever awareness was left in Korra panicked. She wouldn't kill Asami, ever, and she'd resist it even if it ended her own life.

Korra fought the blaze in her hands, fought Vaatu with _everything_ she had left. The fire died, and with the immediately harrowing pain that coursed through her entire body, she buckled forward, letting out a tortured shout. As she collapsed to her knees, she saw Asami run back to Shaozu, intent on knocking him out before he could recover and come after Korra again. But Korra reached her knees, and she dry heaved so powerfully that it knocked her forward onto her hands. She wretched, fresh tears filling her eyes because it was happening again and she couldn't stop it. Raava would leave her and there wouldn't be a balance of anything. It would just be her and Vaatu.

Another convulsing gag traveled through her, but when that wisp of spirit slithered from her mouth, it wasn't white. It was black. _She was doing it_. She was beating Vaatu. And she surrendered to the next heave willingly, more and more of it slipping from her throat until it was gone completely. Until Vaatu was no longer something consuming her, but a real, solid, massive dark spirit, floating in the air before her. She gasped deeply to fill her lungs, but she was too tired and weak to react fast enough and go back into the Avatar state. Vaatu turned, shooting through the air with purpose, almost like he was aiming for…

"Asami!" Korra screamed in warning, but it was too late.

Asami had just finished knocking Shaozu out with her glove, and she turned right in time for Vaatu to collide with her chest. Her green eyes went wide as he crashed into her, but there was nothing she could do to fight. Vaatu disappeared _inside_ of her. She staggered back a couple steps from the force, and her shoulders slumped forward with defeat for only a moment before she straightened up. Her eyes illuminated red, bright red lips pulling into an evil grin.

"Get out of her!" Korra hollered frantically, ignoring her own pain and weakness to rise to her feet. "Leave her alone!"

Asami started forward, chest heaving with a deep, booming laugh. Vaatu didn't say anything until Asami had reached Korra, and then she grabbed the collar of Korra's jacket in her fist, holding her in place while smashing the metal knuckles of the other gloved fist into her cheek. Asami let go, allowing Korra to fall from the blow.

"Oh," Vaatu chuckled. "Asami didn't like that."

"Asami," Korra pleaded, flinching as Asami reached down and grabbed her, hauling her back to feet. "You have to fight it."

"She _can't_ fight it," Vaatu snarled. Asami's knee came up, crashing into Korra's stomach, and when she buckled over to wheeze for breath, she was hit across the back. "She's only human," Vaatu taunted as Korra hit the ground on her stomach. "And she won't last nearly as long as you did." A boot connected with Korra's ribs, and she thought she felt one of them crack as she was kicked so hard it flipped her onto her back. "She's fading already."

"Let her go," Korra whimpered. Instead, Asami raised a foot, aiming to bring it crashing down on Korra's chest. Korra rolled away, darting to her feet and preparing to dodge whatever she had to. She wouldn't fight Asami. Wouldn't hurt her.

"I'll let her go," Vaatu agreed, advancing and throwing a handful of jabs that Korra blocked with her forearms. "If you let me back in. Alone." But Korra was still weak, and tired, and deflecting and dodging hits already had her panting for air. Asami lifted a knee, kicking straight out and catching Korra in the stomach. Korra toppled backward, earthbending as she rolled and using it to push herself up, throwing her off the ground so she landed clumsily on her feet. "I can't fuse permanently until the next harmonic convergence," Vaatu said, advancing again with aggressive maneuvers so different from Asami's usually defensive technique. "But you were born for this. You're the only one who can survive it." Korra took a knee to the thigh, and her leg gave out through the temporary crippling of the struck muscle. "It has to be you."

"I'll never give you what you want!" Korra yelled up at Asami, chest heaving with labored breaths as she felt a spike of anger in her chest. Vaatu was holding Asami hostage, using Asami to get to her because he knew Korra would never hurt her. And he was right, but though she wanted more than anything to make sure Asami was safe, she couldn't let Vaatu back in. It wasn't an option. "Leave her alone!" The defiance was met with another crunching fist to the face.

"She's dying, Korra," Vaatu said mockingly. Korra glared up from the ground, but Vaatu was right. Asami's eyes flickered once, but it wasn't a battle for power. Asami would never be able to fight Vaatu. Her eyes went from glowing red to their normal green, showing Korra a brief glimpse of the deadened dimness in them before going red again. "After this kills her, maybe I'll go to your dad. Maybe I'll kill all your friends." As Korra's eyebrows furrowed with building frustration, Asami stretched her neck, letting out a possessed groan. "It might already be too late for her to recover from this."

Korra looked from Asami to the dying skirmish with the Blue Lotus. Her companions were alive. They were beaten, bruised, and broken, but they were alive, and they were winning and the battle was nearly over. But Vaatu would kill all of them, and as Korra returned her focus to Asami, watched Asami's eyes flicker from that bright red to a dull green, she didn't feel tired anymore. She didn't feel any of the lingering weakness, or hurt, or helplessness. She didn't feel anything but the peaking rage and the livid bile in her throat.

"You're wasting the precious time Asami has left," Vaatu sneered. "Give in to me!"

She wouldn't let him do this. She was _done_. "Vaatu," Korra muttered through clenched teeth, steadily rising to her feet until she was standing there, staring into those waiting red eyes. And through that burning fury in her chest, she roared, "GET OUT!"

Her desperation and anger fueled all the power and energy she had left. The surge of the Avatar state burst through her, filled her lungs and her head and her blood. The glowing white illuminated her eyes, and something stiff and painful shot through her core, arching her back as that pain tore through her throat. Something solid and white reached out of her mouth, extending from her in the rough shape of a hand. That wisp curved down, the end of it splaying flat over Asami's face, gripping, causing her to go rigid and arch just like Korra was.

Then the wisp started drawing back, pulling a similar black shadow from Asami's mouth. It pulled slowly, easing that darkness free until it'd pulled the entirety of Vaatu away, freeing Asami from his possession. The very moment Vaatu was out, Asami collapsed limply, but Korra couldn't stop. She smoothed her hands around in the air, working a massive sphere of wind around Vaatu while he was still dazed. Once he was secure in it, she drew back and punched, bending a slew of rock from the earth and wrapping it around the layer of air. She immediately reached out with both hands, collecting the scattered water and then waving them forward, belting the solid stream of it in another layer around Vaatu. She followed through that wave of her hands, whirling them back and over her head, and as she brought them down again in front of her, she threw a powerful blast of fire forward, circling it around the other bands.

Vaatu was trapped. Stuck in the tight sphere she'd created, and Korra held her hands out, directing the spinning vault of elements toward the tree she knew he'd escaped from. With her hold on him, she paced forward, concentrating hard on not faltering as she reached the tree at the center of the grove. And she placed Vaatu back in the hollow of it, the powerful energy sealing him in with a blinding flash of purple light.

The light faded at the same time as the surge of the Avatar state did, and Korra was too tired to celebrate what she'd done, or that Vaatu was finally imprisoned. She slumped with exhaustion for only a brief second before her heart sank. Before whatever relief she felt in her gut iced over with desolate fear. She whirled around, eyes immediately landing on Asami's unmoving form.

She sprinted forward, sliding to her knees at Asami's side. "Asami?" she prompted desperately, eyes filling with tears as she pulled Asami's upper body into her lap. She leaned down, placing her ear beside Asami's nose and then immediately pressing two fingers to her pulse. "No, no, no." Her breathing was too soft, hardly a tickle against Korra's ear, and her heartbeat too slow, a bare and weak and inconsistent thump. She was slack and unresponsive and Korra's heart shattered into a million pieces. "Come on, Asami," she begged, hugging Asami to her. "Naga!" She had to get Asami to the hospital. She had to do something because this couldn't be how it ended. She couldn't take this. She couldn't. "Please, Asami, don't do this." A stream of tears spilled down her cheeks. "It's your turn to fight. Please."

Korra broke down, sobbing into Asami's neck as her friends finally ran over, stopping in front of her. She couldn't feel any physical pain. Not the cuts and bruises in her face. Not the aching of her limbs or the sharpness of her broken rib. All she could feel was the piercing of her heart because she was losing Asami. Because Asami wouldn't wake up, and she hadn't done enough to stop it and she hadn't beat Vaatu fast enough and she didn't know what to do because she couldn't see anything through the blur of tears, and her heart was _broken_. "I'm sorry," she cried. Asami didn't deserve this. Asami had fought for her, tirelessly, selflessly. This couldn't happen. "I'm so sorry. Please, Asami. You're so strong. Please, don't give up." This couldn't be it.


	13. Chapter 13

Korra sat in the stiff chair, staring out the Republic City hospital window with her legs kicked up on the sill and her hands set on the arm rests. She wasn't thinking about much of anything. She hadn't braved to do much thinking on any of her long stints in this chair during visiting hours, because she didn't want to think about Asami just lying there in the bed behind her. Or that the doctors hadn't known how to help because they'd never dealt with spirits before. Or that all they'd been able to do was keep Asami stable and hope she'd wake up on her own. So all Korra had done the last few days since they'd had Asami transferred back to Republic City was sit in this chair and feel broken.

She hadn't been alone on all of her visits; someone was usually with her for a little while. Mako and Bolin had been by her side for the last couple of hours, until Bolin had gotten hungry and they'd left to go get food. They'd offered to bring Korra something, but she couldn't eat. Most the time the idea of swallowing anything made her sick to her stomach, and the only thing that had gotten her to even nibble the last five days when Mako and Bolin brought food, or when she went home because the hospital kicked her out, were the concerned looks on her friends' faces. She hadn't really gotten to catch up on sleep yet either, though she tried to keep the other from knowing it. The last thing she needed was to add on to her guilt by making them worry about her.

Korra took her feet down from the sill, turning in the seat to look at Asami. More than anything, she hated this desolate feeling of helplessness. It wasn't like when she'd been fused with Vaatu. There was nothing she could do to fight this. It was all up to Asami, and that's if Asami was even still capable of healing. Korra just wished there was something she could do. Wished she could find some way to ensure Asami's uncertain recovery, or find a way to help heal her. She wished she could…

At that thought, Korra's head cocked thoughtfully. It was the first real idea she'd had in almost a week. Maybe school and history and reading would pay off, because she vaguely remembered that some waterbenders used to learn the skill of healing. Korra wasn't just a waterbender, she was the _Avatar_ , and surely, if anyone could relearn the skill after hundreds of years of its absence, she could.

Willing to try, Korra stood from her seat and paced to the bathroom of Asami's hospital room. Even though she wanted to figure it out, she was afraid of hurting Asami if she did it wrong, so she'd try it on herself first. She had plenty of injuries to test it with. Something minor to start, like her split bottom lip.

Korra turned on the sink faucet, bending a small amount of water from it and then turning it off, lifting the water to her face. It felt nice and cool against the cut on her lip, but other than that, nothing special was happening. It was just water. She tried to focus on the vibrations of energy she could feel in it as she held it there, tried to will her focus and soul into it, but nothing happened. It didn't feel any different, didn't act any different.

Maybe she needed to move it around. She shifted the water, working it over the wound to see if that would help, and, for a moment, she thought it did. It tingled over the cut and she thought it might actually be working, but it wasn't. It was just the water seeping through what had already healed the last handful of days. The start of a slight sting because she wasn't healing it, she was irritating it. With a sigh, Korra pulled the water away from her mouth, holding it out in front of her while her shoulders slumped with defeat.

"You're doing it wrong," said someone from behind her.

It was someone she could see in the mirror, but who hadn't been there a moment ago, and it scared her so bad that she jumped, dropping the water so it splashed into the sink. She whirled around to meet the woman, prepared to defend herself, but when they made eye contact, Korra felt all the instinctive fear and tension melt away. The young woman was in dated clothing, water tribe garb Korra had only seen glimpses of in history books, and she knew immediately that this woman wasn't a visitor in the hospital. She was a past Avatar. One of Korra's previous lives.

When Korra failed to say anything because she was still trying to slow her racing heart, the woman said, "It's not the water that's the trick."

Korra glanced over her shoulder at the sink, receiving an encouraging nod in the mirror to try again. She fully turned, gathering fresh water from the faucet and raising it again to the injury on her mouth. Once she had, she met the reflection of the blue eyes behind her.

"A lot of your body is already made up of water," the woman told her. "It wants to heal. It _is_ healing."

"Then what's this for?" Korra asked, motioning with the liquid at her face.

"It stimulates what's already there," the woman answered. "Use it to guide the chi flowing through you, to direct your healing energy."

Korra met her own eyes in the mirror, and then her gaze fell to the water surrounding her lip. She took a deep breath, trying to clear her head so she could put everything she had into harnessing that healing chi. She focused hard. Zeroed in on the thrum of energy she could feel coursing through her with every beat of her heart, and on instinct she massaged with the water she was pressing to her lip, using it like a beacon. Using it to call all that restoring power to exactly where she wanted it. And when she did, the water glowed a bright blue. She _felt_ it working, and it was working fast and behind the moisture she couldn't keep her mouth from curling with a triumphant smile. In a matter of moments the small wound had completely disappeared. _She'd done it._

"Thank," Korra began to say excitedly, but when she searched for that helpful pair of eyes in the mirror, they were gone. "…You," she finished, turning around to scan the empty bathroom.

She was too excited to feel the loss of that connection. She drew more fresh water from the sink and carried it with her to Asami's bedside. It wasn't completely obvious to her where she should focus the power of what she'd just learned, but Asami's head seemed like a good place to start. Korra split the water into two halves, bending them to each of Asami's temples, where she devoted all her focus to the same vibrant, living energy she could feel in Asami's body. The water gave off a soft glow when she began to work it gently, and it _had_ to be working. Everything felt the same on her end, the light, the chi, the hum of its healing abilities, but there didn't seem to be any immediate effect. Asami didn't wake up, didn't shift or move or open her eyes.

Whatever internal or spiritual injuries Asami had suffered were far worse than a cut on the lip, and Korra knew that, but she was determined for this to work. She gave the water a couple of unsuccessful minutes before she thought maybe the head wasn't the right place, and she moved the small amount of it to one hand while she reached for the neckline of Asami's hospital gown. The heart, maybe that was it, and she shifted the neck of the dress down just enough to expose the topmost part of Asami's chest.

With that thought in mind, Korra resumed her new skill, guiding the water against Asami's chest in desperate hopes that it would work. Once again, she could feel that it was. For a few long, optimistic minutes, she stood there, knowing she was doing everything she could and that this was the best anyone could do. But nothing was _happening_. There was no progress or stir, and every minute that passed by without improvement dulled the excitement she'd felt. It was the first spark of hope she'd had in five days, and it was fading all too fast.

When Mako and Bolin pushed open the hospital room door, still without any sign of progress, that hope faded entirely. They walked in just in time to see the end of her attempts, and for Bolin to say with forced excitement, "Hey, cool, what's that?"

"It's useless," Korra muttered sadly, bending the water behind her and through the bathroom door to let it fall into the sink. She turned around to lean back against the side of the waist high bed, shoulders slumping with fresh defeat as she faced Mako and Bolin.

"We brought you some food," Bolin offered gently, striding forward with the bag of takeout to set it on the bedside table.

She nodded thankfully, because even if she couldn't stomach it, it was nice that they were trying to take care of her.

Nobody said anything for a long span of seconds after that, until, eventually, Mako prompted, "Korra?" He didn't finish the question, didn't voice what he was really asking, but he was holding another bag of food for him and Bolin. They hadn't eaten yet, and Korra knew what he was asking and was grateful that he was giving her the opportunity to decline.

"I kind of want to be alone right now," she replied.

While Mako nodded his understanding, Bolin trudged over, wrapping his arms around Korra's waist in an attempt at a comforting hug. "Everything will be okay," he said optimistically, squeezing her to him. Korra grunted her pained acknowledgment, and when Bolin realized he was crushing her already broken rib, he hastily let her go. "Sorry," he blurted. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she said, unable to give it much enthusiasm when she patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks, Bolin."

"Try to eat," Mako suggested from his place near the door, and instead of coming over to try and hug her too, he offered a small smile. "Call us if you need anything."

Korra simply nodded, waiting until they'd left and closed the door behind them to bypass the table with the food, resuming her spot in that stiff chair. She dropped down into it with an aching sigh, kicking her feet up on the windowsill and blinking away the sting of tears in her eyes. Using waterbending to try and heal had been her first real idea in five days, and when it had worked for her, she'd been so hopeful. She should've known not to get excited about it.

Asami had been possessed by a spirit far longer than a human should be, and it wasn't just any spirit. It was Vaatu. Tenzin had said if it'd been any longer then Asami wouldn't have survived it. It would've been too much, and if Korra hadn't pulled Vaatu out when she did… but she still should've done it sooner. Maybe she should've risked sleeping more those three days she'd been fighting. Maybe if she had then she would've been more rested, and would've had the energy to fight harder, or to get Vaatu out of Asami sooner so this wouldn't have happened. Maybe if she'd fought harder when she'd been fused with Vaatu. At the time, she didn't think there was anything she could do. Didn't think she'd had the strength or the energy, but there's _always_ more, and she should've tried. Should've given _everything_ because Asami didn't deserve this, and Korra couldn't live with it.

As she sat there staring out the large window at a ruined city, finally unable to keep herself from thinking, a single tear slid down her cheek. But she reached up and roughly palmed it away, because she wouldn't cry. Even if Asami couldn't see it, Korra would be the strong one now. She'd hold it together because Asami had held it together for her.

She sat there for a few minutes more, struggling to push away those tormenting thoughts, when there was a deep breath from behind her, followed by a soft groan. Her heart skipped, and she pulled her feet down to whirl around in her seat, and when she saw Asami struggling to sit, everything in her lit up. She felt her face brighten, her mouth pulled into a wide grin, her eyes widened with hope and joy and relief and her heart soared.

Asami sat up, blinking away the coma as the heaviness in her eyes shifted to concern, confusion, and panic. At first she seemed to realize that she didn't know where she was, but then she immediately set to scanning the room frantically, unable to find what she needed because she was still waking up and dazed. Korra shot out of her seat, and the movement caught Asami's attention, and they locked gazes and the panic on Asami's face disappeared. She looked flooded with a relief so similar to what Korra was feeling as she stretched out her arms, straining forward desperately while her green eyes filled with tears.

Korra crossed the distance between them in a single large step, wrapping her arms around Asami's waist and glad that Asami's arms were around her shoulders instead of her ribs, because she'd never been hugged so hard in her life. She hugged Asami just as close, arms curled as tight around Asami's torso as she could get them while she buried her face in Asami's shoulder. She breathed in deep, such a powerful wave of comfort washing over her that she couldn't stop the flood of moisture that poured from her eyes because Asami was awake. Asami was alive, and warm, and strong enough that she was clinging to Korra.

"You're okay," Asami sobbed, voice full of relief as she nuzzled her tear-soaked face into Korra's neck. "You're okay," she repeated on a broken whimper. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I'm okay," Korra confirmed tearfully, even though she wasn't the one who'd been in a coma for five days.

"I blacked out," Asami said, sniffling as she released Korra from the hug. "Right after I-" She was interrupted by a choked up intake of breath. "I kicked you," she finished, reaching out to graze her fingers across Korra's rib, watching them instead of looking at Korra. "I had no idea if… I couldn't know…"

"I'm fine," Korra told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead and then immediately pulling her into another hug. "You're the one we've all been worried about."

Before Asami got the chance to reply, a few nurses paced into the room. They had to have been alerted to some change in Asami's state, because while they smiled when they saw that she was awake, they didn't appear shocked. They politely ushered Korra aside so they could check Asami's vitals and head and ask her questions about how she was feeling, but Korra just wanted them to go away. All she wanted was to hold Asami for the next hour and let out all the intense emotions that had been building up the past week, because just standing there, watching her talk and move and be awake, it was overwhelming. Korra was so happy and relieved that she didn't know whether laughing or crying or hugging Asami so tight she couldn't breathe would express it better, and there was a conflicting desire in her to do all three.

Asami seemed to feel some similar conflict, because even while the nurses spoke to her, her focus constantly returned to Korra. Every time it did those green eyes filled with moisture, and she looked away for only a few moments before her gaze was immediately pulled back. Once during those dragging few minutes, an actual tear escaped Asami's eye, and Korra nearly begged the nurses to hurry up and leave. Then _finally_ they did, and Korra didn't even wait for them to close the door before she rushed back to Asami's bedside, pulling her into another tight hug.

She wanted so badly to speak the flurry of conflicting feelings she had. To tell Asami over and over again 'I love you' and how happy she was that she was awake because only saying it an endless amount of times could express how greatly Korra felt it. But then saying it still wouldn't be good enough. So she just stood there, hugging Asami again and fighting the joyful tears in her eyes while Asami sniffled into her neck.

It lasted several long minutes, until Korra finally let go and Asami scooted over on the bed to make room for her. She climbed up to sit at Asami's side, stretching an arm across to set her hand on the bed, leaning over and ignoring the ache in her ribs because all she wanted was to be close. For another minute they simply stared at each other, and then Asami's gaze wandered out the window.

"Are we in Republic City?" she asked, staring out at the familiar skyline of buildings.

Korra nodded. "I thought you might like to be closer to home if you… _when_ you woke up."

Asami looked back at her, taking in the lingering admission of uncertainty with something like guilt creeping into her eyes. She scanned Korra's face, studying the fading cuts and bruises and probably noticing how exhausted Korra looked, and then asked like she was afraid to hear the answer, "How long?"

"Five days," Korra answered, cautiously because, in spite of how excited she was that Asami was awake, Asami didn't seem to know how to react to everything.

Asami let out an immediate sigh of relief, and in response to the curious look on Korra's face said, "I feel like I've been sleeping forever."

Korra couldn't help but give a soft smile of agreement. "It did feel like a long time."

Asami's green eyes scanned her again, lingering at her smile while lifting a hand to cup her face. Her thumb caressed Korra's cheek for a few moments before she sniffled like she was about to cry again. "I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?"

" _You_ didn't hurt me at all," Korra said instantly, but Asami's bottom lip quivered with the effort of holding back emotion. "Hey," she prompted gently, moving enough to catch Asami's undivided attention. The immediate fear and pain of what Vaatu could do had been over for Korra for almost a week now, but for Asami it was fresh. Despite the intense desire to do so, Korra resisted the urge to pull her into another hug and simply hold her until she realized everything was okay. "Don't put blame where it doesn't belong."

"I was so hard on you," Asami whimpered, letting her hand fall from Korra's face as another tear escaped the corner of her eye. "You fought it for days and I couldn't even..." She dropped her chin, squeezing her eyes shut as she inhaled deeply. "I'm so sorry, Korra."

"Asami," Korra prompted in as genuine a tone as she could, waiting the few seconds it took for Asami to look at her. "Please don't beat yourself up about it." Asami glanced away guiltily. "It's been almost a week and literally the only thing I can think about right now is how happy I am that you're awake. I was-" Korra stopped and cleared her throat, because the very reminder made her chest hurt. "I was so scared I'd lose you."

Asami met her gaze, and it seemed she was taking Korra's request to heart, because after a few moments she sniffled the tears away and nodded. She cast a slow look around the room before murmuring quietly, "I'm just glad it wasn't you in this bed."

"I'm not," Korra said seriously.

There was a short pause as Asami's eyebrows furrowed with thought, like she'd been so busy feeling guilty for this that she hadn't realized Korra felt the same way. When she did realize, she forced the corner of her mouth to curl with a playful smile. "What was that about not putting blame where it doesn't belong?" Korra shook her head with disagreement, because it was more her fault than anyone's, but before she could say that out loud, Asami added knowingly, "How about we agree to call it a draw?" Korra didn't respond, so Asami added lightheartedly, "besides, we both got out of there unscathed," as though she knew now it was her turn to cheer Korra up. She even looked over Korra's face and teased, "Well, mostly."

"Asami," Korra said uncomfortably. "You didn't…"

Asami's head tilted curiously, and she glanced down at herself to check her arms for injuries, and then lifted the covers to make sure her legs were still there. She was cut and bruised from the fighting, but that's not what Korra was talking about.

"Can you stand?" Korra asked, getting off the bed and holding out her hand for support. While Asami worked her legs over the side of the bed, Korra tried to remember what Tenzin had told her about the mark. "When humans get possessed by a spirit," she explained, "if it doesn't kill them, they take on some physical aspect of it."

Asami reached her feet, standing still for a moment to make sure she could support herself after so long in bed. "I'm not feeling very ghostly," she said with a smile, but when Korra didn't return it, she murmured, "Okay, now you're scaring me." She reached up to feel her hair. "I'm not bald." Then she glanced at Korra worriedly. "I'm not evil, right?"

"It just…" Korra began, leading Asami toward the bathroom, "Depends on how you take it."

Instead of saying anything, Asami let Korra lead the rest of the way. When they got to the bathroom, Korra guided her shoulders, gently turning her around so the open rear of the hospital gown was facing the mirror. Asami turned her head to look back over her shoulder, finally seeing what she'd come away with.

"Oh…" she muttered.

The physical aspect she'd taken from Vaatu was his markings. Bright red and as permanent as a scar, they spanned across the entirety of her back, from low at the base of her neck to just past her hips. Unlike a scar, however, it wasn't dim. There was a residual but unmistakable glow, and for one long minute, Asami simply stood there, staring over her shoulder at it like she wasn't sure how to react.

"Well," she said eventually, but she didn't finish.

"Yeah…" Korra said quietly. There was another length of silence. "If you ask me," Korra offered, "it's not that bad. It's actually kind of badass as far as battle scars go."

Asami let out a huff of disbelieving laughter, looking forward again to meet Korra's gaze as if to judge whether Korra was being honest or just trying to make her feel better. Then she glanced back over her shoulder at it once more, saying with a considering shrug, "I'll have to get used to it, I guess." Korra nodded understandingly as Asami looked at her and drew in a deep, deliberate breath through her nose. "Is that food?"

"Yeah," Korra chuckled, somewhat relieved that Asami was unconcerned enough about the markings to focus on other things. She truly hadn't been sure how Asami would take it, and was prepared for the worst. "Mako and Bolin brought it. You hungry?"

"Starving," Asami agreed, pacing past Korra and hopping up on the bed, folding her legs beneath her. It was a little surprising that she was so active now that all the information and emotions were settling in, but then again, if Korra had been sleeping for that long, she'd probably have a lot of energy built up too. Asami reached over to the bedside table, pulling the bag of takeout into her lap. "Mako and Bolin were here?"

Korra hummed an affirmative as she climbed onto the bed opposite Asami, unable to contain a grin of her own now because less than twenty minutes ago she was worried she might never be happy again. But Asami was happy and healthy and _hungry_ , and now Korra couldn't stop smiling.

"You just missed them, actually," Korra said, eyeing the food as Asami lifted a bite to her mouth, because now that she was in a better mood, all those meals she'd skipped had suddenly caught up to her.

Asami didn't miss it either, and gathered more with the chopsticks and then stretched them to Korra's mouth. "That's okay," she said as Korra took the bite. "I want to just be with you right now anyway."

"Me too," Korra agreed, but what she was completely unprepared for was the blush that crept into her cheeks. And the fact that she was blushing in front of Asami _now_ , after _everything_ they'd been through together, it made her even shier, until she glanced away bashfully and pursed her lips to try and keep her grin under control.

"Wow," Asami giggled, mouth pulling into a fond smirk. "I've missed that look." She held out another bite of food for Korra, adding genuinely, "I missed you being you… _only_ you."

"You mean you didn't like Vaatu me?" Korra asked in feigned surprise.

Asami rolled her eyes, scarfing down another mouthful before saying sarcastically, "Vaatu you was a real sweetheart."

"I could say the same for you," Korra laughed.

Asami huffed amusedly, but then squinted curiously. "What happened to Vaatu, anyway?"

"I put him back in that tree," Korra answered.

"Can the Blue Lotus get him out again?" Asami asked in concern.

"Not from prison," Korra said with a shrug. "Besides, I think Shaozu realized it was a mistake when I kind of tried to kill him."

"Good," Asami agreed. There was still a lot of food left in the box, but she set it back on the table and turned around on the bed, laying her head in Korra's lap while she kicked her feet up on the pillow. "Are you still…" she began to ask, looking up at Korra, "you know, the Avatar?"

"Yeah," Korra chuckled, "I'm still the master of all the elements." But she pursed her mouth to one side in consideration and laughed, "Or, the amateur of all the elements is more like it." Asami laughed at that too while Korra grazed her fingers over Asami's forehead, and then ran them back through her hair, glad just to be able to talk and touch without stress or worry. "I'm going to start training with Tenzin, and we'll teach anyone who wants to learn as we figure things out."

Asami reached for Korra's hand, bringing it down to her lips to press a comforting kiss to her palm. "How are things out there?" she asked, nodding toward the window.

"The people have calmed down," Korra answered. "But the city's a mess. I don't think you have to worry about Future Industries anymore, you're going to be busy for a while."

"Well," Asami shrugged nonchalantly, threading her fingers through Korra's. "I can rebuild the way we wanted to. The way we couldn't because Raiko was being cheap."

Korra laughed, nodding her agreement. "It's not like he has much of a choice now."

"Are you going to help?" Asami asked. "This was your project."

"When I can," Korra said unsurely. "But I know it's in good hands, and I get the feeling I'll be pretty busy for a while too."

"You are the Avatar," Asami agreed, and added teasingly, "I guess that means you won't be making my macchiatos anymore."

"Well, you know," Korra said playfully, "I'm a dedicated barista who is willing to make an exception." And she passed a coy smirk down at Asami. "I'll make you coffee the mornings after you spend the night."

Asami buoyed her eyebrows, saying flirtatiously, "I'll be sure to tip you well."

"I like the sound of that," Korra chuckled. They stayed there smiling at each other for a good minute before Korra glanced back out the hospital window, giving a soft sigh.

"What is it?" Asami asked gently.

"I think I can do it," Korra answered honestly, glancing back down at Asami in her lap. "But being the Avatar's a big job. I'm… kind of nervous." And after everything they'd just dealt with, that sounded so ridiculous that she almost laughed.

"You _can_ do it," Asami said encouragingly, with that same, devoted confidence she always had. "And you know you don't have to do it alone."

Korra smiled gratefully, nodding. "I know."

"You know what else I think?" Asami asked, to which Korra hummed curiously. "I think we should spend every minute we can until work comes looking for us."

Korra chuckled, "We got at least a week for you to take off with the recovery excuse." She glanced around the hospital room she'd spent most of the last few days in, suddenly desperate to be anywhere but here. "Do you want to get out of here?"

"Can we _please_?" Asami asked eagerly, pushing herself up and out of Korra's lap.

Korra nodded and hopped off the bed, fully prepared to go and get Asami's clothes so they could start checking out of the hospital. It didn't matter that she'd gotten so little sleep in the last week, because she was going to spend every waking minute that she could with Asami. The rest of the world could wait.


End file.
